` And meetings too , dear ; for here we are , and Nat is on his way at last . Look for the silver lining , as Marmee used to say , and be comforted , ' answered Mrs Amy , glad to be at home and find no wolves prowling near her sheepfold . ` I 've been so worried lately , I ca n't help croaking . I wonder what Dan thought at not seeing you again ? It was wise ; but he would have enjoyed another look at home faces before he went into the wilderness , ' said Mrs Jo regretfully . ` Much better so . We left notes and all we could think of that he might need , and slipped away before he came . Bess really seemed relieved ; I 'm sure I was ' ; and Mrs Amy smoothed an anxious line out of her white forehead , as she smiled at her daughter , laughing happily among her cousins . Mrs Jo shook her head as if the silver lining of that cloud was hard to find ; but she had no time to croak again , for just then Mr Laurie came in looking well pleased at something . ' A new picture has arrived ; face towards the music-room , good people , and tell me how you like it . I call it `` Only a fiddler '' , after Andersen 's story . What name will you give it ? ' As he spoke he threw open the wide doors , and just beyond they saw a young man standing , with a beaming face , and a violin in his hand . There was no doubt about the name to this picture , and with the cry ` Nat ! Nat ! ' there was a general uprising . But Daisy reached him first , and seemed to have lost her usual composure somewhere on the way , for she clung to him , sobbing with the shock of a surprise and joy too great for her to bear quietly . Everything was settled by that tearful and tender embrace , for , though Mrs Meg speedily detached her daughter , it was only to take her place ; while Demi shook Nat 's hand with brotherly warmth , and Josie danced round them like Macbeth 's three witches in one , chanting in her most tragic tones : ` Chirper thou wast ; second violin thou art ; first thou shalt be . Hail , all hail ! ' This caused a laugh , and made things gay and comfortable at once .
Then the usual fire of questions and answers began , to be kept up briskly while the boys admired XXXXX 's blond beard and foreign clothes , the girls his improved appearance -- for he was ruddy with good English beef and beer , and fresh with the sea-breezes which had blown him swiftly home -- and the older folk rejoiced over his prospects .
Andersen Daisy Jo Josie Marmee Meg Nat fiddler left second