John , you are hurt ! Lean on me ' -- which John gladly did for a moment , being a trifle dazed yet quite able to enjoy the tender touch of the hands busied about him and the anxiety of the face so near his own ; for both told him something which he would have considered cheaply won by a rain of hammers and the fall of the whole college on his head . Nan was on the spot in a moment with the case that never left her pocket ; and the wound was neatly plastered up by the time Mrs Jo arrived , demanding tragically : ` Is he too much hurt to go on again ? If he is , my play is lost ! ' ` I 'm all the fitter for it , Aunty ; for here 's a real instead of a painted wound . I 'll be ready ; do n't worry about me . ' And catching up his wig , Demi was off , with only a very eloquent look of thanks to the Marquise , who had spoilt her gloves for his sake , but did not seem to mind it at all , though they reached above her elbows , and were most expensive . ` How are your nerves , Fletcher ? ' asked Mr Laurie as they stood together during the breathless minute before the last bell rings . ` About as calm as yours , Beaumont , ' answered Mrs Jo , gesticulating wildly to Mrs Meg to set her cap straight . ` Bear up , partner ! I 'll stand by you whatever comes ! ' ' I feel that it ought to go ; for , though it 's a mere trifle , a good deal of honest work and truth have gone into it . Does n't Meg look the picture of a dear old country woman ? ' She certainly did , as she sat in the farmhouse kitchen by a cheery fire , rocking a cradle and darning stockings , as if she had done nothing else all her life . Grey hair , skilfully drawn lines on the forehead , and a plain gown , with cap , little shawl , and check apron , changed her into a comfortable , motherly creature who found favour the moment the curtain went up and discovered her rocking , darning , and crooning an old song . In a short soliloquy about Sam , her boy , who wanted to enlist ; Dolly , her discontented little daughter , who longed for city ease and pleasures ; and poor ` Elizy ' , who had married badly , and came home to die , bequeathing her baby to her mother , lest its bad father should claim it , the little story was very simply opened , and made effective by the real boiling of the kettle on the crane , the ticking of a tall clock , and the appearance of a pair of blue worsted shoes which waved fitfully in the air to the soft babble of a baby 's voice . Those shapeless little shoes won the first applause ; and Mr Laurie , forgetting elegance in satisfaction , whispered to his coadjutor : ' I thought the baby would fetch them ! ' ` If the dear thing wo n't squall in the wrong place , we are saved . But it is risky .
Be ready to catch it if all Meg 's cuddlings prove in vain , ' answered Mrs XXXXX , adding , with a clutch at Mr Laurie 's arm as a haggard face appeared at the window : ` Here 's Demi !
Beaumont Elizy Fletcher Jo Meg Nan babble darning fire left