| In the hope of pleasing everyone, she took everyone's advice, and like the old man and his donkey in the fable suited nobody
Her father liked the metaphysical streak which had unconsciously got into it, so that was allowed to remain though she had her doubts about itHer mother thought that there was a trifle too much descriptionOut, therefore it came, and with it many necessary links in the storyMeg admired the tragedy, so Jo piled up the agony to suit her, while Amy objected to the fun, and, with the best intentions in life, Jo quenched the spritly scenes which relieved the somber character of the storyThen, to complicate the ruin, she cut it down one third, and confidingly sent the poor little romance, like a picked robin, out into the big, busy world to try its fate
Well, it was printed, and she got three hundred dollars for it, likewise plenty of praise and blame, both so much greater than she expected that she was thrown into a state of bewilderment from which it took her some time to recover
"You said, Mother, that criticism would help meBut how can it, when it's so contradictory that I don't know whether I've written a promising book or broken all the ten commandments?" cried poor Jo, turning over a heap of notices, the perusal of which filled her with pride and joy one minute, wrath and dismay the next"This man says, `An exquisite book, full of truth, beauty, and earnestness
All is sweet, pure, and healthy'" continued the perplexed authoress"The next, `The theory of the book is bad, chanel metallic gilt leather bag full of morbid fancies, spiritualistic ideas, and unnatural characters' Now, as I had no theory of any kind, don't believe in Spiritualism, and copied my characters from life, I don't see how this critic can be rightAnother says, `It's one of the best American novels which has appeared for years' (I know better than that), and the next asserts that `Though it is original, and written with great force and feeling, it is a dangerous book' 'Tisn't! Some make fun of it, some overpraise, and nearly all insist that I had a deep theory to expound, when I only wrote it for the pleasure and the moneyI wish I'd printed the whole or not at all, for I do hate to be so misjudged
Her family and friends administered comfort and commendation liberallyYet it was a hard time for sensitive, high-spirited Jo, who meant so well and had apparently done so illBut it did her good, for those whose opinion had real value gave her the critism which is an author's best education, and when the first soreness was over, she could laugh at her poor little book, yet believe in it still, and feel herself the wiser and stronger for the buffeting she had received
"Not being a genius, like Keats, it won't kill me," she said stoutly, "and I've got the joke on my side, after all, for the parts that were taken straight out of real life are denounced as impossible and absurd, and the scenes that I made up out of my own silly head are pronounced `charmingly natural, tender, and true'So I'll comfort myself with that, and when I'm rolex ladies ready, I'll up again and take another
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Like most other young matrons, Meg began her married life with the determination to be a model housekeeperJohn should find home a paradise, he should always see a smiling face, should fare sumptuously every day, and never know the loss of a buttonShe brought so much love, energy, and cheerfulness to the work that she could not but succeed, in spite of some obstaclesHer paradise was not a tranquil one, for the little woman fussed, was over-anxious to please, and bustled about like a true Martha, cumbered with many caresShe was too tired, sometimes, even to smile, John grew dyspeptic after a course of dainty dishes and ungratefully demanded plain fareAs for buttons, she soon learned to wonder where they went, to shake her head over the carelessness of men, and to threaten to make him sew them on himself, and see if his work would stand impatient and clumsy fingers any better than hers
They were very happy, even after they discovered that they couldn't live on love aloneJohn did not find Meg's beauty diminished, though she beamed at him from behind the familiar coffee potNor did Meg miss any of the romance from the daily parting, when her husband followed up his kiss with the tender inquiry, "Shall I send some veal or mutton for dinner, darling?" The little house ceased to be a glorified bower, but it became a home, and the young couple soon felt that it was a change for the betterAt first they played keep-house, and frolicked over it louis vuitton demin bags for sale in the uk like childrenThen John took steadily to business, feeling the cares of the head of a family upon his shoulders, and Meg laid by her cambric wrappers, put on a big apron, and fell to work, as before said, with more energy than discretion
While the cooking mania lasted she went through MrsCornelius's Receipt Book as if it were a mathematical exercise, working out the problems with patience and careSometimes her family were invited in to help eat up a too bounteous feast of successes, or Lotty would be privately dispatched with a batch of failures, which were to be concealed from all eyes in the convenient stomachs of the little HummelsAn evening with John over the account books usually produced a temporary lull in the culinary enthusiasm, and a frugal fit would ensue, during which the poor man was put through a course of bread pudding, hash, and warmed-over coffee, which tried his soul, although he bore it with praiseworthy fortitudeBefore the golden mean was found, however, Meg added to her domestic possessions what young couples seldom get on long without, a family jar
Fired a with housewifely wish to see her storeroom stocked with homemade preserves, she undertook to put up her own currant jellyJohn was requested to order home a dozen or so of little pots and an extra quantity of sugar, for their own currants were ripe and were to be attended to at onceAs John firmly believed that `my wife' was equal to anything, and took a natural pride in her skill, he resolved that she should be gratified, and imitation gucci wallets their only crop of fruit laid by in a most pleasing form for winter useHome came four dozen delightful little pots, half a barrel of sugar, and a small boy to pick the currants for herWith her pretty hair tucked into a little cap, arms bared to the elbow, and a checked apron which had a coquettish look in spite of the bib, the young housewife fell to work, feeling no doubts about her success, for hadn't she seen Hannah do it hundreds of times? The array of pots rather amazed her at first, but John was so fond of jelly, and the nice little jars would look so well on the top shelf, that Meg resolved to fill them all, and spend a long day picking, boiling, straining, and fussing over her jellyShe did her best, she asked advice of MrsCornelius, she racked her brain to remember what Hannah did that she left undone, she reboiled, resugared, and restrained, but that dreadful stuff wouldn't `jell'
She longed to run home, bib and all, and ask Mother to lend her a hand, but John and she had agreed that they would never annoy anyone with their private worries, experiments, or quarrelsThey had laughed over that last word as if the idea it suggested was a most preposterous one, but they had held to their resolve, and whenever they could get on without help they did so, and no one interfered, for MrsMarch had advised the planSo Meg wrestled alone with the refractory sweetmeats all that hot summer day, and at five o'clock sat down in her topsy-turvey kitchen, wrung her bedaubed hands, lifted up her voice and watch chanel j12 black with diamonds w |
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