`` That is so kind , I gladly tell you . My friends find for me a place in a college , where I teach as at home , and earn enough to make the way smooth for Franz and Emil . For this I should be grateful , should I not ? '' `` Indeed you should . How splendid it will be to have you doing what you like , and be able to see you often , and the boys ! '' cried Jo , clinging to the lads as an excuse for the satisfaction she could not help betraying . `` Ah ! But we shall not meet often , I fear , this place is at the West . '' `` So far away ! '' and Jo left her skirts to their fate , as if it did n't matter now what became of her clothes or herself . Mr. Bhaer could read several languages , but he had not learned to read women yet . He flattered himself that he knew Jo pretty well , and was , therefore , much amazed by the contradictions of voice , face , and manner , which she showed him in rapid succession that day , for she was in half a dozen different moods in the course of half an hour . When she met him she looked surprised , though it was impossible to help suspecting that she had come for that express purpose . When he offered her his arm , she took it with a look that filled him with delight , but when he asked if she missed him , she gave such a chilly , formal reply that despair fell upon him . On learning his good fortune she almost clapped her hands . Was the joy all for the boys ? Then on hearing his destination , she said , `` So far away ! '' in a tone of despair that lifted him on to a pinnacle of hope , but the next minute she tumbled him down again by observing , like one entirely absorbed in the matter ... `` Here 's the place for my errands . Will you come in ? It wo n't take long . ''
XXXXX rather prided herself upon her shopping capabilities , and particularly wished to impress her escort with the neatness and dispatch with which she would accomplish the business .
Bhaer Emil Franz Jo day destination errands home hour left