thrown upon him till his ardor was effectually quenched. Franz
was president, and maintained order admirably, considering the
unruly nature of the members. Mr. Bhaer never interfered with
their affairs, and was rewarded for this wise forbearance by being
invited now and then to behold the mysteries unveiled, which he
appeared to enjoy much.
When Nan came she wished to join the Club, and caused great
excitement and division among the gentlemen by presenting
endless petitions, both written and spoken, disturbing their
solemnities by insulting them through the key-hole, performing
vigorous solos on the door, and writing up derisive remarks on
walls and fences, for she belonged to the “Irrepressibles.” Finding
these appeals in vain, the girls, by the advice of Mrs. Jo, got up an
institution of their own, which they called the Cosy Club. To this
they magnanimously invited the gentlemen whose youth excluded
them from the other one, and entertained these favored beings so
well with little suppers, new games devised by Nan, and other
pleasing festivities, that, one by one, the elder boys confessed a
desire to partake of these more elegant enjoyments, and, after
much consultation, finally decided to propose an interchange of
civilities.
The members of the Cosy Club were invited to adorn the rival
establishment on certain evenings, and to the surprise of the
gentlemen their presence was not found to be a restraint upon the
conversation or amusement of the regular frequenters; which could
not be said of all Clubs, I fancy. The ladies responded handsomely
and hospitably to these overtures of peace, and both institutions
flourished long and happily.
CHAPTER IX DAISY’S BALL
“Mrs. Shakespeare Smith would like to have Mr. John Brooke, Mr.
Thomas Bangs, and Mr. Nathaniel Blake to come to her ball at
three o’clock today.
“P.S. Nat must bring his fiddle, so we can dance, and all the boys
must be good, or they cannot have any of the nice things we have
cooked.”
This elegant invitation would, I fear, have been declined, but for
the hint given in the last line of the postscript.
“They have been cooking lots of goodies, I smelt ’em. Let’s go,”
said Tommy.
“We needn’t stay after the feast, you know,” added Demi.
“I never went to a ball. What do you have to do?” asked Nat.
“Oh, we just play be men, and sit round stiff and stupid like
grown-up folks, and dance to please the girls. Then we eat up
everything, and come away as soon as we can.”
“I think I could do that,” said Nat, after considering Tommy’s
description for a minute.
“I’ll write and say we’ll come;” and Demi despatched the following
gentlemanly reply,
“We will all come. Please have lots to eat. J. B. Esquire.”
Great was the anxiety of the ladies about their first ball, because if
every thing went well they intended to give a dinner-party to the
chosen few.
“Aunt Jo likes to have the boys play with us, if they are not rough;
so we must make them like our balls, then they will do them
good,” said Daisy, with her maternal air, as she set the table and
surveyed the store of refreshments with an anxious eye.
“Demi and Nat will be good, but Tommy will do something bad, I
know he will,” replied Nan, shaking her head over the little
cake-basket which she was arranging.
“Then I shall send him right home,” said Daisy, with decision.
“People don’t do so at parties, it isn’t proper.”
“I shall never ask him any more.”
“That would do. He’d be sorry not to come to the dinner-ball,
wouldn’t he?”
“I guess he would! we’ll have the splendidest things ever seen,
won’t we? Real soup with a ladle and a tureem [she meant tureen]
and a little bird for turkey, and gravy, and all kinds of nice
vegytubbles.” Daisy never could say vegetables properly, and had
given up trying.
“It is ‘most three, and we ought to dress,” said Nan, who had
arranged a fine costume for the occasion, and was anxious to wear
it.
“I am the mother, so I shan’t dress up much,” said Daisy, putting on
a night-cap ornamented with a red bow, one of her aunt’s long