After the first surprise , incredulity , and joy , which came to Jo , with the ingratitude of human nature , she soon tired of renown , and began to resent her loss of liberty . For suddenly the admiring public took possession of her and all her affairs , past , present , and to come . Strangers demanded to look at her , question , advise , warn , congratulate , and drive her out of her wits by well-meant but very wearisome attentions . If she declined to open her heart to them , they reproached her ; if she refused to endow her pet charities , relieve private wants , or sympathize with every ill and trial known to humanity , she was called hard-hearted , selfish , and haughty ; if she found it impossible to answer the piles of letters sent her , she was neglectful of her duty to the admiring public ; and if she preferred the privacy of home to the pedestal upon which she was requested to pose , ` the airs of literary people ' were freely criticized . She did her best for the children , they being the public for whom she wrote , and laboured stoutly to supply the demand always in the mouths of voracious youth -- ` More stories ; more right away ! ' Her family objected to this devotion at their expense , and her health suffered ; but for a time she gratefully offered herself up on the altar of juvenile literature , feeling that she owed a good deal to the little friends in whose sight she had found favour after twenty years of effort . But a time came when her patience gave out ; and wearying of being a lion , she became a bear in nature as in name , and returning to her den , growled awfully when ordered out . Her family enjoyed the fun , and had small sympathy with her trials , but Jo came to consider it the worse scrape of her life ; for liberty had always been her dearest possession , and it seemed to be fast going from her . Living in a lantern soon loses its charm , and she was too old , too tired , and too busy to like it . She felt that she had done all that could reasonably be required of her when autographs , photographs , and autobiographical sketches had been sown broadcast over the land ; when artists had taken her home in all its aspects , and reporters had taken her in the grim one she always assumed on these trying occasions ; when a series of enthusiastic boarding-schools had ravaged her grounds for trophies , and a steady stream of amiable pilgrims had worn her doorsteps with their respectful feet ; when servants left after a week 's trial of the bell that rang all day ; when her husband was forced to guard her at meals , and the boys to cover her retreat out of back windows on certain occasions when enterprising guests walked in unannounced at unfortunate moments . A sketch of one day may perhaps explain the state of things , offer some excuse for the unhappy woman , and give a hint to the autograph-fiend now rampant in the land ; for it is a true tale . ` There ought to be a law to protect unfortunate authors , ' said Mrs Jo one morning soon after Emil 's arrival , when the mail brought her an unusually large and varied assortment of letters . ` To me it is a more vital subject than international copyright ; for time is money , peace is health , and I lose both with no return but less respect for my fellow creatures and a wild desire to fly into the wilderness , since I can not shut my doors even in free America . ' ` Lion-hunters are awful when in search of their prey . If they could change places for a while it would do them good ; and they 'd see what bores they were when they `` do themselves the honour of calling to express their admiration of our charming work '' , ' quoted Ted , with a bow to his parent , now frowning over twelve requests for autographs . ' I have made up my mind on one point , ' said Mrs Jo with great firmness . ' I will not answer this kind of letter . I 've sent at least six to this boy , and he probably sells them . This girl writes from a seminary , and if I send her one all the other girls will at once write for more . All begin by saying they know they intrude , and that I am of course annoyed by these requests ; but they venture to ask because I like boys , or they like the books , or it is only one .
Emerson and Whittier put these things in the wastepaper-basket ; and though only a literary nursery-maid who provides moral pap for the young , I will follow their illustrious example ; for I shall have no time to eat or sleep if I try to satisfy these dear unreasonable children ' ; and Mrs XXXXX swept away the entire batch with a sigh of relief .
America Jo Lion-hunters Ted autograph-fiend boarding-schools copyright doorsteps right week