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diff --git a/78818-0.txt b/78818-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c97402e --- /dev/null +++ b/78818-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1177 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78818 *** + + + + + [Illustration: “LOUISE ALCOTT” + THE CHILDREN’S FRIEND.] + + + + +LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, + + THE CHILDREN’S FRIEND. + + BY EDNAH D. CHENEY. + + ILLUSTRATED BY LIZBETH B. COMINS. + + [Illustration] + + BOSTON: + L. PRANG & COMPANY. + + + + + Copyright, 1888, by L. PRANG & CO., Boston, Mass. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +No explanation can be necessary for offering to the children of America +a memorial of Louisa May Alcott, to whom a whole generation looks up +with honor and affection as their benefactor and friend. + +This slight sketch of her life is not intended to take the place of the +full biography, which, it is hoped, will be prepared under the auspices +of her own family. The aim has been to show how truly her writings +represented herself, and came out of her own varied and fruitful life. + +A word more should be said in regard to the poems. The “Song of the +Suds” is introduced to express her sense of the poetry of labor. The +lines “To a Robin” are interesting as her childish expression. The +poems to her father and mother show the deep, filial reverence and +tenderness which were among her strongest traits. The two poems by her +father are added to indicate the love with which the orphan child, who +became so large a part of her life, was welcomed by her family, and her +father’s recognition of the motives which prompted her to exertion, +which were, not love of money or fame, but sacred duty to those whom +God had given her to cherish and bless. + +This book is affectionately dedicated to the children of America. + + EDNAH D. CHENEY. + + + + +LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, + +THE CHILDREN’S FRIEND. + +Born Nov. 29, 1832; died March 6, 1888. + + +It was on the twenty-ninth of November, in the good year 1832, when +a dear little baby girl came into a sweet and beautiful home in the +pleasant suburb of Germantown, near the great city of Brotherly +Love--or Philadelphia. + +Very welcome was the dear baby, for she came to loving, true hearts: to +a father who was holy and good, and felt a reverence for every child; +to a mother whose great generous heart was ready to hold all in its +loving embrace; and to a little sister who was full of delight in the +baby. This baby was Louisa Alcott, the children’s friend. + +A picturesque house it was, and it is still standing, though the +little town has grown into a great one, and is not so country-like and +pretty as it was then. + +Her father taught a school in Philadelphia, and the little ones grew +and throve under their mother’s watchful eye. + +She lived only a year or two in this first home, when the father was +obliged to give up his school and their pleasant house, and remove to +Boston. + +The family went by sea from Philadelphia, and the two little girls were +all nicely dressed in clean nankeen dresses for the voyage; but they +had not been long on board before the lively Louisa was missing, and +after a long search she was brought up from the engine-room, where her +eager curiosity had carried her, and where she had a beautiful time, +with plenty of dirt. You will understand from this early frolic of hers +what a lively little child she was, full of fun and mischief, and will +not be surprised when I tell you that Nan in “Jo’s Boys” represents +herself, and that she can describe her scrapes so well because she had +been in them all. + +The little story, “Poppy’s Pranks,” is a true account of the first +years of her life in Boston, when she got lost in the streets, tumbled +into the Frog Pond, and made things generally lively for everybody +about her. She got lost and was cried about the street: “Lost! a little +girl, four years old; curly brown hair, blue eyes, had on a white frock +and green shoes; calls herself Poppy.” Still, the child was good. “Oh, +dreadfully good! for a week. Quite an angel was Poppy. So meek and +gentle, so generous and obedient, you really wouldn’t have known her.” + +When she was three years old another little girl came into the home, +and was named Elizabeth, for that dear, good woman, Elizabeth P. +Peabody, who was then helping Mr. Alcott in the school, and who has +loved and helped everybody so much, that she is well called the +“Grandmother of Boston.” + +Then a baby brother came, only to die, and the children’s hearts were +sad that they could not keep him. His little body was laid in the tomb +of their grandfather, Col. May, in the old burial-ground on the Common, +and the family always kept his birthday with loving remembrance, +because they felt his soul belonged to them, and they would know him +again in heaven. + +Last of all was the little May, who was tenderly cared for by the +oldest sister, and who quarrelled with and adored the gifted Louisa. + +When Louisa was only eight years old she was already fond of writing, +and she composed the poem in this book, called “The Robin.” One cold +morning the children found in the garden a little half-starved bird, +and having warmed and fed him, they felt inspired to write a touching +poem. The loving mother was so pleased with these verses that she said, +“You will grow up a Shakespeare.” Her child didn’t become that; but, +as we have one Shakespeare, perhaps it was just as well that she grew +up to be the “children’s friend,” and to write stories for them, which +have added very much to their happiness, and helped them to live better +lives. + +At this time Mr. Alcott kept that school in the Masonic Temple, which +has become so famous by the account Miss Peabody has given of it. Some +things in the school at Plumfield are taken from this model, but not +much, for this was only a day school, and I don’t think the teacher +thought quite so much of making the children’s bodies strong and +giving them a jolly time as Mr. Bhaer did. But he did encourage them +to talk and to express all their earnest thoughts. “It was a school of +thirty children, mostly boys under ten years of age; well disposed, +good-natured, overflowing with animal spirits, and all but intoxicated +with play.” + +Louisa never went to this school, but the children had very good times +at home. She went later to a smaller school kept by her father in the +home in Beach Street. In fact, Louisa went to school very little, +and learned all she knew from her father and mother, and the bright, +intelligent people they always had about them. She went a little while +once or twice to a child’s school and a few weeks to a district school, +but her education was very varied and irregular. + +But the children were taught by their father in the pleasantest way at +home. For two hours in the morning they were either in his study or on +some shady seat in the garden under his care. He taught them much by +writing, and they each kept a journal of their work and their lives. +They wrote down words and their meanings, and often made drawings to +illustrate them. The father sometimes made pictures of the houses in +which they were staying, or the landscapes they loved, and I have seen +in one of the journals a sketch of himself, with the little Elizabeth +in his lap. One of the children wrote once, “She _said_ prayers, but I +think my resolutions to be good are prayers.” + +The school in Boston was not prosperous, and Mr. Alcott went to +Concord to live in a small cottage. This house is described in “Little +Women” as Meg’s first home, but Anne never lived there after her +marriage. It had a pleasant garden full of trees; and best of all, it +had a great barn, in which the children had free range, and here they +acted out all the plays which came into their active little brains. +“Jack and the Bean Stalk” was a favorite, and they had many a tumble +from the beams in climbing up to the imaginary giant’s castle. + +They lived three years in this cottage, and to the children they were +very happy ones, for they did not then understand the anxieties of the +father and mother, on whom poverty was pressing hard. + +During this time Mr. Alcott went to England and brought back a +gentleman with him, who had some peculiar ideas about making a +paradise on earth. The family went to a place called Fruitlands to +try the experiment. Miss Alcott has told the story of this life in +“Transcendental Wild Oats” with such a mixture of pathos and humor that +you cannot tell whether to laugh or to cry. + +They returned to Concord to another house in which the great novelist +Hawthorne afterwards lived. Here Mr. Alcott cultivated land, raising +fruit and vegetables, and there the girls first began to realize the +poverty of the family, and to feel that they must try to ease the +burdens of father and mother. + +[Illustration: HOME AT CONCORD, MASS.] + +And now, dear children, before I tell you how “Little Women” and +all the books you love so much were written, I want you to realize how +fully Miss Alcott had known almost all that she has described. She knew +the bitterness of poverty, when even the daily food, if not scanty, +was simple in quality and sweetened by no luxuries. All that she has +told you of the struggles of young girls, turning their dresses and +painting their shoes, and carrying a torn glove in the hand, and every +little petty misery of the toilet, she has not only seen but known. All +the sacrifices made by one sister or friend to help another, were felt +or observed by her, and all the tender, wise rebukes from father and +mother were treasured up in her memory. Scarcely an adventure in her +stories but is painted from life, altered in time and place, but still +revealing the history of some real person. + +Out of their hard trials, borne with love and courage, but felt just as +keenly as other girls feel them, as out of a dark mine, she has drawn +the gold and silver and precious jewels with which she has brightened +the lives of so many children and hard-working girls; for nothing helps +us like knowing that others have suffered as we have and conquered +as we may. What was the secret of her power to do this? It was that +she kept her heart full of love and faith and courage. She was never +ashamed of the poverty or hardships she had been through, but was +proud that she could do whatever work was necessary for herself or her +family, and she was full of loving thought for everybody else, and +longing to help them in the sorrows and trials she knew so well herself. + + “This is the famous stone + That turneth all to gold.” + +You feel that Miss Alcott tells you the whole story of her life. She +shows you how she loves fun and play, and wants all children to have +plenty of it, and how children’s restless spirits may lead them to +do many wild pranks without their being really wicked; but she also +shows you that when they really do wrong or cherish wrong feelings, or +are careless or inconsiderate of others’ feelings and happiness, they +suffer very much from it, and more in their own hearts than in any +other way. + +Here is a little picture of the “rooms in the heart,” which was the +children’s real experience, a lesson which they never lost, but to +which, even to their latest day, they looked for guidance in their +conduct. The passage occurs in “Little Men”:-- + + “‘Well, it’s one of my private plays, and I’ll tell you, but I + think you’ll laugh at it,’ began Demi, glad to hold forth on this + congenial subject. ‘I play that my mind is a round room, and my soul + is a little sort of creature with wings that lives in it. The walls + are full of shelves and drawers, and in them I keep my thoughts, and + my goodness and badness, and all sorts of things. The goods I keep + where I can see them, and the bads I lock up tight, but they get out, + and I have to keep putting them in and squeezing them down, they are + so strong. The thoughts I play with when I am alone or in bed, and I + make up and do what I like with them. Every Sunday I put my room in + order, and talk with the little spirit that lives there, and tell him + what to do. He is very bad sometimes, and won’t mind me, and I have + to scold him, and take him to grandpa. He always makes him behave, + and be sorry for his faults, because grandpa likes this play, and + gives me nice things to put in the drawers, and tells me how to shut + up the naughties. Hadn’t you better try that way? it’s a very good + one’; and Demi looked so earnest and full of faith that Dan did not + laugh at his quaint fancy, but said soberly:-- + + “‘I don’t think there is a lock strong enough to keep my badness shut + up. Any way, my room is in such a clutter I don’t know how to clear + it up.’” + +In telling you about Miss Alcott’s childhood, I must tell you how fond +she was of animals. She delighted in dogs, though she never possessed +one, but she has made the performing dog Sanch as real and interesting +as any of her children, and the story of the little raspberry girls +watering sheep in the crowded cattle car might well rouse up the +railroad men to their duty of sparing these poor, patient animals all +needless suffering. But cats were the especial pets of the household; +the children played with them and tended them in sickness, and buried +them when dead, and Louisa embalmed their memory in the story of the +“Seven Black Cats.” + +Amid the discomforts of travel she could get pleasure from her favorite +animals:-- + + “Up the hill they went after breakfast; and balm was found for the + old lady’s woes in the sight of many Angora cats, of great size and + beauty. White as snow, with tails like plumes, and mild, yellow eyes, + were these charmers. At every window sat one; on every door-step + sprawled a bunch of down; and frequently the eye of the tabby-loving + spinster was gladdened by the touching spectacle of a blond mamma in + the bosom of her family. + + “‘If I could only carry it, I’d have one of those dears, no matter + what it cost!’ cried Lavinia, more captivated by a live cat than by + all the dead Huguenots that Catherine de Medicis hung over the castle + walls on a certain memorable occasion.” + +Dolls were equally dear to her. They seem to form the “missing link” in +a child’s heart between animate and inanimate nature. Louisa made hers +do everything that a human being could do. They were fed, educated, +punished, rewarded, nursed, and even hung and buried; and the story of +the little girls who sent their dolls on a journey for the pleasure of +hearing their adventures, seemed hardly an exaggeration to her:-- + + “As soon as Flora and Dora recovered from the bewilderment occasioned + by the confusion of the post-office, they found themselves in one of + the many leathern mail-bags rumbling Eastward. As it was perfectly + dark, they could not see their companions, so listened to the + whispering and rustling that went on about them. The newspapers all + talked politics, and some of them used such bad language that the + dolls would have covered their ears, if their hands had not been tied + down. The letters were better behaved and more interesting, for they + told one another the news they carried, because nothing is private in + America, and even gummed envelopes cannot keep gossip from leaking + out. + + “‘It is very interesting, but I should enjoy it more if I was + not grinding my nose against the rough side of this leather bag,’ + whispered Dora, who lay undermost just then. + + “‘So should I, if a heavy book was not pinching my toes. I’ve tried + to kick it away, but it won’t stir, and keeps droning on about + reports and tariffs and such dull things,’ answered Flora, with a + groan. + + “‘Do you like travelling?’ asked Dora, presently, when the letters + and papers fell asleep, lulled by the motion of the cars. + + “‘Not yet, but I shall when I can look about me. This bundle near by + says the mails are often sorted in the cars, and in that way we shall + see something of the world, I hope,’ answered Flora, cheering up, + for, like her mamma, she was of an inquiring turn. + + “The dolls took a nap of some hours, and were roused by a general + tumbling out on a long shelf, where many other parcels lay, and + lively men sent letters and papers flying here and there as if a + whirlwind was blowing. A long box lay beside the dolls who stood + nearly erect leaning against a pile of papers. Several holes were + cut in the lid, and out of one of them was thrust a little black + nose, as if trying to get air.” + +This real feeling of the Alcott children adds to the pathos of the +sacrifice to the Kitty Mouse in “Little Men”:-- + + “The superb success of this last offering excited Teddy to such + a degree that he first threw his lamb into the conflagration, and + before it had time even to roast he planted poor, dear Annabella on + the funeral pyre. Of course she did not like it, and expressed her + anguish and resentment in a way that terrified her infant destroyer. + Being covered with kid, she did not blaze, but did what was worse, + she _squirmed_. First one leg curled up, then the other, in a very + awful and life-like manner; next, she flung her arms over her head + as if in great agony; her head itself turned on her shoulders, her + glass eyes fell out, and with one final writhe of her whole body she + sank down a blackened mass on the ruins of the town. This unexpected + demonstration startled every one, and frightened Teddy half out of + his little wits. He looked, then screamed, and fled toward the house, + roaring ‘Marmar,’ at the top of his voice.” + +As soon as the girls were old enough to comprehend the needs of the +family, their earnest desire was to help in its support. + +Louisa naturally chose her father’s profession of teaching, and began +when very young to teach some of the children of the neighborhood. One +or both the sisters taught school at various times, and Louisa was +governess in a rich family in Boston. + +She never disdained any work that promised help towards her object. Her +mother at one time opened an intelligence office, and when a gentleman +applied for some one to “help” in the family, “to be treated with the +greatest consideration and kindness,” she said, “Mother, why can’t I +go?” Her mother allowed her to try the experiment, but it proved a hard +experience. She has herself told the story, and it shows how much a +poor “hired girl” may suffer from want of respect and consideration, +even from the “best families.” + +The family struggled long with poverty, and often ate the bitter bread +of dependence. But they were never so poor but they had something +to share with those in need, and the generous spirit of the mother +is justly shown in the opening scene of “Little Women,” where the +Christmas breakfast is given to the poor German family. + +The fugitive slave was safe within their territory, and was hidden in +the barn, and even in the old brick oven, when his persecutors came in +search of him. From stories which Louisa learned from these men, came +the wonderful tale of “My Contraband,” the most powerful and passionate +of any of her stories in “Hospital Sketches,” and also “An Hour,” which +tells of the slaves’ eager longing for liberty. + +At a later period a band of houseless emigrants were encamped in the +yard of their house in Boston, from which act of perhaps inconsiderate +charity came a run of smallpox for all the household. + +This period of the girlish life of the family is represented in her +famous “Little Women,” the most popular story book for children ever +written. + +The father’s character is but slightly indicated, and he does not take +a very active share in this story. But as if, of purpose to give him +due respect, in the opening chapter of the second volume, she describes +his life, saying, “the quiet man sitting among his books was still head +of the family, the household conscience, anchor and comforter.” + +In “Eli’s Education” she has given the early life of her father, +who had to struggle hard for his education. His influence upon his +daughters was very strong and deep, although less apparent than the +mother’s. + +This extract will show how he began life:-- + + “His father had no patience with him, called him a shiftless dreamer, + and threatened to burn the beloved books. But his mother defended + him, for he was her youngest, and the pride of her heart; so she let + him scribble all over her floors before she scrubbed them up, dipped + extra thick candles for his use, saved every scrap of paper to swell + his little store, and firmly believed that he would turn out the + great man of the family. His brothers joked about his queer ways, + but in his sisters he found firm friends and tender comforters for + all his woes. So he struggled along, working on the farm in summer + and in a clock shop during the winter, with such brief spells of + schooling as he could get between whiles, improving even these poor + opportunities so well that he was letter-writer for all the young + people in the neighborhood. + + “Now, he was writing in his journal very slowly, but very well, + shaping his letters with unusual grace and freedom; for the wide + snow-banks were his copybooks in winter, and on their white pages he + had learned to sweep splendid capitals or link syllables handsomely + together. This is what he wrote that night, with a sparkle in the + blue eyes and a firm folding of the lips that made the boyish face + resolute and manly:-- + + “‘I am set in my own mind that I get learning. I see not how, but my + will is strong, and mother hopes for to make a scholar of me. So, + please God, we shall do it.’ + + “Then he shut the little book and put it carefully away in the + blue chest, with pen and ink, as if they were very precious things; + piously said his prayers, and was soon asleep under the homespun + coverlet, dreaming splendid dreams, while a great bright star looked + in at the low window, as if waiting to show him the road to fortune.” + +Miss Alcott’s mother was a woman of large, generous nature and fine +intellectual powers. She is well represented by Mrs. March in “Little +Women” in her motherly relations. Her early life is told in the “Story +of Aunt Abby.” + +Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are characteristic portraits of the four girls. +Meg, or Anne, was the domestic, home-loving sister with the gentle +disposition of the father, and she knew the happy marriage and sad +widowhood described in “Jo’s Boys.” The writer herself is represented +in the warm-blooded, impetuous, generous Jo; overflowing with life +and talent, strong and rash in her judgment, high and heroic in her +purposes, refined, idealized, and ever held up by the high spiritual +influences which her father’s thought and life shed around her, though +she sympathized more with her practical mother. Her sympathy with +others, her delight in blessing them, her keen understanding of their +natures and trials, are all true of the girl who was to develop into +such strong, noble womanhood. It is not true that she courted under an +umbrella or married a German professor, but she has so well imagined +the matrimonial conclusion which was demanded for the story, that we +are tempted to wish it were. She reappears in “Little Men,” “Jo’s +Boys,” “Old-fashioned Girl,” and many other stories. + +The tender Elizabeth (the Beth of the story) drooped in her young +maidenhood even as the tale reports, and the father sat alone by the +beautiful body of his child all night in silence. The mother’s heart, +which had borne so many trials, was never quite blithe after this long +watching of two years, ending in the loss of her cherished child. + +Every one who knew the young, enthusiastic, artistic May Alcott, +recognized her in the charming sketch of “Amy.” Beautifully idealized +by her sister’s genius, her little faults and peculiarities are +delicately sketched in, and we can see her stately walk, and recognize +the child-like, loving spirit which never forsook her. She had her +youthful romances and day-dreams, but she did not marry Laurie, nor +live to enjoy the blessings of motherhood and family life. She went +abroad in 1878 for improvement in art, in which she had much success, +and married a Swiss gentleman. Death closed her happy married life +of only a few months. She left her baby, a girl, to the care of her +sister Louisa, who sent out to Europe for the little nursling, and ever +afterwards cherished her as her own child. The verses of Mr. Alcott +show how the motherless child was welcomed into heart and home. + +“Who was Laurie?” is a question asked by many children. No one boy +united all his traits, but three of their neighbors’ children in +Concord were especially intimate in the Alcott family, and supplied +letters for the post-office and other incidents of the story. But the +most perfect type of the accomplished, generous Laurie was a young +Polish lad whom Miss Alcott met in Europe. + +No one can help seeing in her stories her fondness for boys. She loved +the bold, free spirit of adventure in them, the chivalric devotion +and self-sacrifice, the eagerness for knowledge of life, rather than +of books. She always held up a high standard, and believed in their +future, in spite of all boyish faults and follies. Consequently she +was warmly beloved, and “Jo’s Boys” was not merely a fiction of the +imagination, but a reality of the heart. + +As soon as the war broke out, Miss Alcott could not rest at home, but +eagerly offered her services as nurse in the army hospitals. She had +been brought up in anti-slavery principles, and was full of patriotic +zeal and sympathy for the soldiers. + +She has told the story of her work in “Hospital Sketches,” which is +very largely a mere transcript of letters which she sent home to her +family. She was stricken with fever while on duty, and returned home to +suffer many weeks of illness, and she never recovered from the terrible +strain upon her nervous system. The suffering she had witnessed and the +intense excitement of the war produced a fever of the brain, and the +peaceful chamber at Concord became so filled with harrowing visions +that she never loved to be there afterwards. + +Miss Alcott never liked teaching, and longed for more congenial +occupation. When about nineteen or twenty she became enamoured of the +stage, and was very eager to develop her dramatic talent as an actress, +but wiser counsels restrained her. She has indicated this experience +in “Work,” which gives a great deal of her own life and struggles. She +understood her own powers and her own defects, and while she saw it was +not the life for her, she was sensible to its fascinations as well as +its dangers. + + “On the night of the benefit, Lucy was in a most exasperating + mood, Christie in a very indignant one, and as they entered their + dressing-room they looked as if they might have played the ‘Rival + Queens’ with great effect. Lucy offered no help and Christie asked + none, but putting her vexation resolutely out of sight, fixed her + mind on the task before her. + + “As the pleasant stir began all about her, actress-like, she felt + her spirits rise, her courage increase with every curl she fastened + up, every gay garment she put on, and soon smiled approvingly at + herself, for excitement lent her cheeks a better color than rouge; + her eyes shone with satisfaction, and her heart beat high with a + resolve to make a hit or die. + + “Christie needed encouragement that night, and found it in the + hearty welcome that greeted her, and the full house, which proved + how kind a regard was entertained for her by many who knew her only + by a fictitious name. She felt this deeply, and it helped her much, + for she was vexed with many trials those before the footlights knew + nothing of.... + + “But, in spite of all annoyances, she had never played better in her + life. She liked the part, and acted the warm-hearted, quick-witted, + sharp-tongued Peg with a spirit and grace that surprised even those + who knew her best. Especially good was she in the scenes with + Triplet, for Kent played the part admirably, and cheered her on with + many an encouraging look and word. Anxious to do honor to her patron + and friend, she threw her whole heart into the work; in the scene + where she comes like a good angel to the home of the poor playwright, + she brought tears to the eyes of her audience; and when, at her + command, Triplet strikes up a jig to amuse the children, she ‘covered + the buckle’ in gallant style, dancing with all the frolicsome + _abandon_ of the Irish orange-girl, who for a moment forgot her + grandeur and her grief. + + “That scene was her best, for it is full of those touches of nature + that need very little art to make them effective; and when a great + bouquet fell with a thump at Christie’s feet, as she paused to bow + her thanks for an encore, she felt that she had reached the height of + earthly bliss.” + +But writing of poems, and especially of stories, was her earliest +love, and she now began to pursue this work earnestly. She wrote +stories which she sent secretly to the newspapers, and great was her +joy when they were accepted, and wild the excitement of the little +family over the first money which she thus earned. With marvellous +facility she poured out sheet after sheet of the wildest romances, +full of passionate declamation and soul-stirring adventure. They were +published in _Gleason’s Pictorial_, and were in constant demand, and +thus brought her much-needed money. + +But she found that she was not in her true path. She was writing for +money only, and not from an earnest purpose to represent life truly, +and to disseminate a sweet and wholesome influence. She has described +this experience in “Little Women.” But it was only frivolity and +excitement, not positive evil in which she had indulged, and we must +not infer too much from her self-accusations. How entirely her later +writings redeemed this early fault, all will admit, for her highest +praise is for the healthy, moral influence of her books. No one would +have condemned her as severely as she does herself. She thus tells the +story of her abandonment of this work:-- + + “As soon as she went to her room, she got out her papers, and + carefully re-read every one of her stories. Being a little + short-sighted, Mr. Bhaer sometimes used eye-glasses, and Jo had tried + them once, smiling to see how they magnified the fine print of her + book; now she seemed to have got on the professor’s mental or moral + spectacles also, for the faults of these poor stories glared at her + dreadfully, and filled her with dismay. + + “‘They _are_ trash, and will soon be worse than trash if I go on; for + each is more sensational than the last. I’ve gone blindly on, hurting + myself and other people, for the sake of money; I know it’s so, for I + can’t read this stuff in sober earnest without being horribly ashamed + of it; and _what should_ I do if they were seen at home, or Mr. Bhaer + got hold of them?’ + + “Jo turned hot at the bare idea, and stuffed the whole bundle into + her stove, nearly setting the chimney afire with the blaze. + + “‘Yes, that’s the best place for such inflammable nonsense; I’d + better burn the house down, I suppose, than let other people blow + themselves up with my gunpowder,’ she thought, as she watched the + ‘Demon of the Jura’ whisk away, a little black cinder with fiery eyes. + + “But when nothing remained of all her three months’ work, except a + heap of ashes, and the money in her lap, Jo looked sober, as she sat + on the floor, wondering what she ought to do about her wages. + + “‘I think I haven’t done much harm _yet_, and may keep this to pay + for my time,’ she said, after a long meditation, adding, impatiently, + ‘I almost wish I hadn’t any conscience, it’s so inconvenient. If + I didn’t care about doing right, and didn’t feel uncomfortable + when doing wrong, I should get on capitally. I can’t help wishing, + sometimes, that father and mother hadn’t been so dreadfully + particular about such things.’ + + “Ah, Jo, instead of wishing that, thank God that ‘father and mother + _were_ particular,’ and pity from your heart those who have no + such guardians to hedge them round with principles which may seem + like prison walls to impatient youth, but which will prove sure + foundations to build character upon in womanhood. + + “Jo wrote no more sensational stories, deciding that the money did + not pay for her share of the sensation.” + +In 1855 she published a little volume called “Flower Fables,” which she +had written for one of her friends when sixteen years old. She received +thirty-two dollars for it. + +It was probably about this time that a friendly publisher gave her the +advice, “Louisa, give up writing, stick to your teaching,” accompanying +his unwelcome advice with a small sum of money. “When I make my little +pot of gold by writing, I will repay you this,” she said. When in a few +years she received a handsome sum of copyright money, she thought she +had found the “pot of gold,” and returned the money, as she had not +taken the advice. + +In 1864 she published a more ambitious story or novel, entitled +“Moods.” While there is much to indicate her future power, the book has +not the charm of her later stories, and it did not succeed with the +public. + +Perhaps she never felt such discouragement as from the severe +criticisms of this book, on which she had spent much time and labor. +But her motive for exertion was too strong to allow her to yield +to despondency. She wisely turned to the life which she thoroughly +understood, and in 1868 produced, out of her own family experience, +“Little Women,” which at once won the hearts of all the children, and +established her fame and fortune. The children throughout the land +recognized her as their friend and their story-teller, and the second +series, which should complete the story, was waited for with as much +impatience as the news of a battle. + +Vehement was the indignation when Jo refused to make Laurie happy, and +young girls cried themselves sick over the pathetic passages of the +story. + +Violent as the excitement was, it was not transient. This book has +commanded a steady sale ever since, and secured a welcome from +publisher and public for everything which she afterwards wrote. + +She has herself given a most amusing description in “Jo’s Boys” of this +success, as well as of the somewhat oppressive attentions which were +poured upon her. She always shrank from any public demonstrations, +and remained as simple, straightforward, natural, impulsive, and +warm-hearted as a woman as she was when a child. + + “The March family had enjoyed a great many surprises in the course + of their varied career, but the greatest of all was when the Ugly + Duckling turned out to be, not a swan, but a golden goose, whose + literary eggs found such an unexpected market that in ten years Jo’s + wildest and most cherished dream actually came true. How or why it + happened she never clearly understood, but all of a sudden she found + herself famous in a small way, and, better still, with a snug little + fortune in her pocket to clear away the obstacles of the present and + assure the future of her boys.... + + “Things always went by contraries with Jo. Her first book, labored + over for years, and launched full of the high hopes and ambitious + dreams of youth, foundered on its voyage. The hastily written story, + sent away with no thought beyond the few dollars it might bring, + sailed with a fair wind and a wise pilot at the helm straight into + public favor, and came home heavily laden with an unexpected cargo of + gold and glory.... + + “It was the power of making her mother’s last years happy and serene; + to see the burden of care laid down forever, the weary hands at rest, + the dear face untroubled by any anxiety, and the tender heart free + to pour itself out in the wise charity which was its delight. As a + girl, Jo’s favorite plan had been a room where Marmee could sit in + peace and enjoy herself after her hard, heroic life. Now the dream + had become a happy fact, and Marmee sat in her pleasant chamber + with every comfort and luxury about her, loving daughters to wait + on her as infirmities increased, a faithful mate to lean upon, and + grandchildren to brighten the twilight of life with their dutiful + affection. A very precious time to all, for she rejoiced, as only + mothers can, in the good fortunes of their children. She had lived to + reap the harvest she sowed; had seen prayers answered, hopes blossom, + good gifts bear fruit, peace and prosperity bless the home she had + made; and then, like some brave, patient angel, whose work was done, + turned her face heavenward, glad to rest.” + +Dearer than all the fame was the power she gained by her writings to +lift her family out of poverty and care into welfare and luxury. Her +father was “throned in philosophic ease,” and every taste gratified; +his library replenished, his books re-bound, and his leisure made +peaceful and serene. + +It was sweet to see the motherly hands, which had toiled so long for +every member of the household, resting in calm satisfaction. The +widowed sister and the dear nephews were helped in every emergency; +the young artist was furnished with means to go abroad and pursue her +career; the little babe was surrounded with every comfort; the old age +of the mother was made peaceful and happy, and the long, slow passage +of her father to the grave was smoothed with every attention and care. + +Nor did her beneficence end at home. She did not have a Plumfield +school for boys, but she had her boys, whose career she watched +with constant love and care, and whom she sent to Europe to study, +or aided with means at home, as their needs required. The circle of +her influence was ever widening, and her charity flowed out to many +who never knew its source. She was constantly appealed to for advice +by young writers, and though she gave severe criticism, she readily +acknowledged merit and success. She gave sympathy and help to every +good reform, and was an ardent advocate of Woman’s Suffrage and other +plans for the advancement of women. + +In 1865 her long-cherished desire of a visit to Europe was gratified. +She went as companion to an invalid lady. She left her on the Continent +and went alone to England, where she visited dear friends, and had +a delightful time. Very little of this experience appears in her +books, and she very seldom goes out of her native surroundings for +her characters and incidents. She was thoroughly American in all her +feelings, and she studied daily life more than old books and chronicles. + +Four or five years later she went again to Europe with her youngest +sister and a friend. She has given a very lively and interesting +account of this journey in “Shawl Straps,” in which she rather +caricatures herself as the old lady of the party, for she was not yet +forty. But ill-health had thrown its saddening influence over her, and +the hints of physical and nervous suffering are only too real. She was +called home by news of the sudden death of her beloved brother-in-law. +She has told the sweet, touching story of his death in “Little Men”:-- + + “‘He was only ill a few hours, and died as he had lived, so + cheerfully, so peacefully, that it seems a sin to mar the beauty of + it with any violent or selfish grief. We were in time to say good-by; + and Daisy and Demi were in his arms as he fell asleep on Aunt Meg’s + breast. No more now, I cannot bear it’; and Mr. Bhaer went hastily + away quite bowed with grief, for in John Brooke he had lost both + friend and brother, and there was no one to take his place.” + +I have tried to show you how Miss Alcott’s life was revealed in her +stories, and when you wonder how she could charm and interest children +so, this is the answer: because she tells you what she knows well +herself. All her books are full of incidents treasured in her heart and +memory. + +“The Grandmother” in “Old-fashioned Girl” tells the stories of +Lafayette and Madam Hancock, which she had from her mother’s lips. Some +of the methods used by Mr. Bhaer in disciplining his boys were Mr. +Alcott’s plans in his Boston school; especially making the boys whip +him instead of receiving the blows themselves. + +May’s experiences furnished the story of “Class Day.” + +In 1879, Miss Alcott spent some weeks at Willow Cottage, Magnolia, +where she wrote the story of “Jack and Jill.” The main part of the +story describes life in Concord, or “Harmony,” as she translates it. +But a little paragraph pictures the beautiful sea-shore place, and the +kind, bright hostess who made it such a home; and the story of the +lobsters is founded in melancholy fact. Here is her description of this +pleasant summer home:-- + + “The Willows was a long, low house close to the beach, and as full as + a bee-hive of pleasant people, all intent on having a good time. A + great many children were swarming about, and Jill found it impossible + to sleep after her journey,--there was such a lively clatter of + tongues on the piazzas, and so many feet were going to and fro in the + halls. She lay down obediently, while Mrs. Minot settled matters in + the two airy rooms and gave her some dinner; but she kept popping up + her head to look out of the window to see what she could see. Just + opposite stood an artist’s cottage and studio, with all manner of + charming galleries, towers, steps, and even a sort of drawbridge, to + pull up when the painter wished to be left in peace. He was absent + now, and the visitors took possession of this fine play-place. + Children were racing up and down the galleries, ladies sitting in the + tower, boys disporting themselves on the roof, and young gentlemen + preparing for theatricals in the large studio.” + +[Illustration: WILLOW COTTAGE, MAGNOLIA.] + +The first chapter of the story gives a very lively description +of the favorite New England winter sport of “coasting,” which is a +good sketch of the scenes on the popular resort of Ponkataset Hill in +Concord:-- + + “Up and down three long coasts they went as fast as legs and sleds + could carry them. One smooth path led into the meadow, and here the + little folk congregated; one swept across the pond, where skates went + gayly around, like water-bugs; and the third, from the very top of + the steep hill, ended abruptly at a rail fence on the high bank above + the road. + + “There was a group of lads and lasses sitting or leaning on this + fence to rest, after an exciting race, and, as they reposed, they + amused themselves with criticising their mates still absorbed in this + most delightful of out-door sports.” + +In “Work” she describes her beloved minister, Theodore Parker, the +truest of friends; and in “Old-fashioned Girl,” two young artists who +cling to each other through all variations of life and fortune. The +doctor and the philanthropist (a beautiful girl lost on the ill-fated +“Schiller”), the actor and the lawyer, were all drawn from life. + +It is this truth to real experience which gave her such power over the +hearts of children and girls, for they felt she understood and knew all +their trials, and never considered them small. + +To understand other people’s feelings is the first step toward really +helping them. + +A noble philanthropist said to me, “How much Louisa Alcott has done +to lead girls to right ways of thinking!” That is what she has tried +to do for you, her dear children and girls. She has tried to show how +sweet and precious home life is, and how you can always find something +to bless those right around you, and make yourselves and them happier +and better. She has taught you that homely, quiet work is never to be +despised, and that character and happiness can be built up without +great talents or large fortune. She has taught you never to despise +or despair of any child, however poor or homely or naughty, or even +sinful he may be; but to seek out the good angel in him, by which he +may be led onwards and upwards to usefulness and happiness. And she +has also taught you that if you are blessed with great gifts, with +wealth or talent, you have no right to leave them unemployed, but must +be as faithful to your large opportunities as others to their small +ones. Her boy Laurie must be shaken out of his elegant languor and +good-natured self-indulgence, as thoroughly as Dan must be civilized +out of rudeness. And the great principle which governed her own life, +and made her the benefactor and the friend of children, was loyalty to +duty in whatever form it appeared. + +One of her prettiest poems is the “Song from the Suds,” and her +description of bread-making makes it as poetic as Nausicaa’s washing. + +[Illustration] + +“A SONG FROM THE SUDS.” + +FROM “LITTLE WOMEN.” + + “Queen of my tub, I merrily sing, + While the white foam rises high; + And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring, + And fasten the clothes to dry; + Then out in the free fresh air they swing, + Under the sunny sky. + + “I wish we could wash from our hearts and our souls + The stains of the week away, + And let water and air by their magic make + Ourselves as pure as they; + Then on the earth there would be indeed + A glorious washing day! + + “Along the path of a useful life + Will heart’s-ease ever bloom; + The busy mind has no time to think + Of sorrow, or care, or gloom; + And anxious thoughts may be swept away + As we busily wield a broom. + + “I am glad a task to me is given, + To labor at day by day; + For it brings me health, and strength, and hope, + And I cheerfully learn to say,-- + ‘Head you may think, Heart you may feel, + But Hand you shall work alway!’” + +In the little story of the “Jerseys” she has sketched her idea of a +true woman, as she wants her girls to be. + +How full of life the teacher is, as described by the school-girls:-- + + “‘She’s not a bit of a fashion-plate, but a splendid woman, just + natural and hearty and sweet.’ Even her clothes have a superior air + about them. ‘Her jersey fits splendidly! There she is now! Girls, + she’s running! Do come and see!’ + + “All ran in time to see a tall young lady come up the wide path at a + good pace, looking as fresh and blithe as the Goddess of Health.” + +This healthy, wise teacher shows the girls the folly of many of +their conventional notions, and encourages them in their efforts +for broader lives, “and long after they were scattered apart, they +remembered the lessons which helped them to be what their good friend +hoped--healthful, happy, and useful women.” + +The high spiritual religion of her father, the warm, human affections +of her mother, full of natural joy in life, and knowing that mirth and +fun helped the world on, as well as seriousness and labor, blended in +Miss Alcott’s work in such delightful humor, that tears and smiles are +alike ready at her call; and whatever she writes you find, as Burns +says,-- + + “Perhaps it may turn out a song, + Perhaps turn out a sermon.” + +How tenderly the children feel for the little dog who has lost his +beautiful tail, as if they had known what it was to be doggies +themselves! How she enjoys Jacko’s fun, and enters into the life of the +circus boy; and even sympathizes with the poor rough bear, who tried +to live in freedom in the woods, but came back to his prison to die! +She has the blessed power of imagination, by which she can “put herself +into another’s place,” and feel his experiences as if they were her own. + +It seems a pleasant thing to write all these beautiful stories for +children, and perhaps some of you will resolve to follow her example +in writing. But, remember, nothing can be done without hard work, and +Miss Alcott wrote many an hour when she felt sick and weary, and would +gladly have lain down in some quiet place to rest. Her fingers became +cramped with holding a pen so much, and her head was dizzy and weary +with thinking out her stories, and correcting proofs, beside having +many a care. Then the dear old mother died; and not many years after +the father was stricken with paralysis, and for almost six years the +two sisters cared for him when he was feeble as a little child. + +So she became tired out, and she went to a good friendly home to rest. +A whole year she was there, and we fondly hoped she was regaining the +strength she had used to help and bless so many people. But + + “The silver cord was loosed, and the golden bowl was broken.” + +A cold brought on a severe attack in head and throat, and she lay +unconscious and helpless. Her father’s serene life had closed two days +before, and as the dear friends of the family gathered to pay their +tribute of affection and respect to him, they heard the thrilling +words, “Louisa Alcott is dead!” + +Those words reached over many lands, and everywhere children mourned as +for a dear friend gone from them. She was ready and willing to go; but +it was hard for them to be willing to spare her, to know that no new +words would come from her pen, no more lessons of help and strength for +their lives. + +But let us be thankful that her beautiful, generous heart had poured +itself out so lavishly in words of wisdom and beauty, that we can never +feel that she is gone from us; we can turn again and again to the +stories in which she has told us her life, and thank God that Louisa +Alcott lived. + +She was taken to the beautiful town where her girlhood was passed, and +“her boys” went as her guard of honor to the tomb. + +In that Sleepy Hollow, where Emerson and Hawthorne, too, were placed, +her worn-out frame was laid to rest. She asked to be laid across the +feet of father, mother, and sister, “to take care of them as she had +done all her life.” + +My little friends, you may not one of you have the great talents which +made Miss Alcott _famous_, but every one of you can try to have her +spirit of love and duty, can follow in the paths she has pointed out, +and, like her, receive the Father’s blessing on “Duty’s faithful child.” + +[Illustration: SLEEPY HOLLOW CEMETERY. CONCORD, MASS.] + + + + +POEMS. + + + “_Then let the Book receive in these prompt lines + A just memorial; and thine eyes consent + To read that they who mark their course behold + A life declining with the golden light + Of summer in the season of sere leaves; + See cheerfulness undamped by stealing Time; + See studied kindness flow with easy stream, + Illustrated with inborn courtesy; + And an habitual disregard of self + Balanced by vigilance for others’ weal._” + + WORDSWORTH. + + +TO A ROBIN. + + Welcome, welcome little stranger, + Fear no harm and fear no danger, + We are glad to see you here, + For you sing sweet Spring is near. + + Now the white snow melts away, + Now the flowers blossom gay, + Come dear bird and build your nest, + For we love our Robin best. + +[Illustration] + + +[Illustration: “SAFE YE ANGELS KEEP THIS CHILD”] + +TO LOUISA ALCOTT NIERIKER. + +BY HER GRANDFATHER. + + Voyager across the seas, + In my arms thy form I press; + Come, my baby, me to please, + Blue-eyed nurseling, motherless! + + All is strange and beautiful; + Every sense finds glad surprise; + Life is lovely, wonderful, + Faces fair and beaming eyes. + + Safe, ye angels, keep this child, + Life-long guard her innocence, + Winsome ways, and temper mild; + Heaven, our home, be her defence! + + +[Illustration: IN MEMORIAM] + +TRANSFIGURATION. + +IN MEMORIAM. + +[Lines written by Louisa M. Alcott on the death of her mother.] + + Mysterious death! who in a single hour + Life’s gold can so refine, + And by thy art divine + Change mortal weakness to immortal power! + + Bending beneath the weight of eighty years, + Spent with the noble strife + Of a victorious life, + We watched her fading heavenward through our tears. + + But ere the sense of loss our hearts had wrung, + A miracle was wrought, + And swift as happy thought + She lived again, brave, beautiful, and young. + + Age, pain, and sorrow dropped the veils they wore, + And showed the tender eyes + Of angels in disguise, + Whose discipline so patiently she bore. + + The past years brought their harvest rich and fair, + While memory and love + Together fondly wove + A golden garland for the silver hair. + + How could we mourn like those who are bereft, + When every pang of grief + Found balm for its relief + In counting up the treasures she had left? + + Faith that withstood the shocks of toil and time, + Hope that defied despair, + Patience that conquered care, + And Loyalty whose courage was sublime. + + The great deep heart that was a home for all; + Just, eloquent, and strong, + In protest against wrong; + Wide charity that knew no sin, no fall. + + The Spartan spirit that made life so grand, + Mating poor, daily needs + With high, heroic deeds, + That wrested happiness from Fate’s hard hand. + + We thought to weep, but sing for joy instead, + Full of the grateful peace + That follows her release; + For nothing but the weary dust lies dead. + + O noble woman! never more a queen + Than in the laying down + Of sceptre and of crown, + To win a greater kingdom yet unseen. + + Teaching us how to seek the highest goal; + To earn the true success; + To live, to love, to bless, + And make death proud to take a royal soul. + +[Published in “A Masque of the Poets,” Roberts Brothers, 1878.] + + +[Illustration: TO MY FATHER] + +TO MY FATHER + +ON HIS EIGHTY-SIXTH BIRTHDAY. + + Dear Pilgrim, waiting patiently, + The long, long journey nearly done, + Beside the sacred stream that flows + Clear shining in the western sun; + Look backward on the varied road + Your steadfast feet have trod, + From youth to age, through weal and woe, + Climbing forever nearer God. + + Mountain and valley lie behind; + The slough is crossed, the wicket passed; + Doubt and despair, sorrow and sin, + Giant and fiend, conquered at last. + Neglect is changed to honor now; + The heavy cross may be laid down; + The white head wins and wears at length + The prophet’s, not the martyr’s crown. + + Greatheart and Faithful gone before, + Brave Christiana, Mercy sweet, + Are Shining Ones who stand and wait + The weary wanderer to greet. + Patience and Love his handmaids are, + And till time brings release, + Christian may rest in that bright room + Whose windows open to the east. + + The staff set by, the sandals off, + Still pondering the precious scroll, + Serene and strong, he waits the call + That frees and wings a happy soul; + Then, beautiful as when it lured + The boy’s aspiring eyes, + Before the pilgrim’s longing sight + Shall the Celestial City rise. + + Nov. 29, 1885. L. M. A. + + +TO LOUISA MAY ALCOTT. + +BY HER FATHER. + + When I remember with what buoyant heart, + Midst war’s alarms and woes of civil strife, + In youthful eagerness thou didst depart, + At peril of thy safety, peace, and life, + To nurse the wounded soldier, swathe the dead,-- + How piercèd soon by fever’s poisoned dart, + And brought unconscious home, with wildered head, + Thou ever since, mid languor and dull pain, + To conquer fortune, cherish kindred dear, + Hast with great studies vexed a sprightly brain, + In myriad households kindled love and cheer, + Ne’er from thyself by Fame’s loud trump beguiled, + Sounding in this and the farther hemisphere, + I press thee to my heart as Duty’s faithful child. + + + + +Transcriber’s Notes + +Italics have been represented by _underlines_. Small capitals have been represented by +CAPITALS. + +A period has been added to the name Col. May. + +The surname “Meriker” has been corrected to “Nieriker.” + +The spelling “Ponkataset” (for “Punkatasset”) has been retained. + +The following sentence has been added to the quote on page 17, after +the words “a whirlwind was blowing”: “A long box lay beside the dolls +who stood nearly erect leaning against a pile of papers.” This sentence +comes from _Aunt Jo’s Scrap Bag, Volume 6_, the source of the quote. + +A grave accent has been added to the word “piercèd” in the poem on page +58, to match other editions of the work and to better fit the meter. + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78818 *** |