-LRB- I know better than that -RRB- , and the next asserts that ` Though it is original , and written with great force and feeling , it is a dangerous book . ' 'T is n'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 money . I 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 liberally . Yet it was a hard time for sensitive , high-spirited Jo , who meant so well and had apparently done so ill . But it did her good , for those whose opinion had real value gave her the criticism 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 wo n'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 ready , I 'll up again and take another . '' CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT DOMESTIC EXPERIENCES Like most other young matrons , Meg began her married life with the determination to be a model housekeeper . John should find home a paradise , he should always see a smiling face , should fare sumptuously every day , and never know the loss of a button . She brought so much love , energy , and cheerfulness to the work that she could not but succeed , in spite of some obstacles . Her 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 cares . She was too tired , sometimes , even to smile , John grew dyspeptic after a course of dainty dishes and ungratefully demanded plain fare . As 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 could n't live on love alone . John did not find Meg 's beauty diminished , though she beamed at him from behind the familiar coffee pot . Nor 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 better . At first they played keep-house , and frolicked over it like children .
Then XXXXX 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 .
John Keats Martha Meg daily day first keep-house matrons overpraise