That music has taken the vanity out of me as Rome took it out of her , and I wo n't be a humbug any longer . Now what shall I do ? '' That seemed a hard question to answer , and Laurie began to wish he had to work for his daily bread . Now if ever , occurred an eligible opportunity for ` going to the devil ' , as he once forcibly expressed it , for he had plenty of money and nothing to do , and Satan is proverbially fond of providing employment for full and idle hands . The poor fellow had temptations enough from without and from within , but he withstood them pretty well , for much as he valued liberty , he valued good faith and confidence more , so his promise to his grandfather , and his desire to be able to look honestly into the eyes of the women who loved him , and say `` All 's well , '' kept him safe and steady . Very likely some Mrs. Grundy will observe , `` I do n't believe it , boys will be boys , young men must sow their wild oats , and women must not expect miracles . '' I dare say you do n't , Mrs. Grundy , but it 's true nevertheless . Women work a good many miracles , and I have a persuasion that they may perform even that of raising the standard of manhood by refusing to echo such sayings . Let the boys be boys , the longer the better , and let the young men sow their wild oats if they must . But mothers , sisters , and friends may help to make the crop a small one , and keep many tares from spoiling the harvest , by believing , and showing that they believe , in the possibility of loyalty to the virtues which make men manliest in good women 's eyes . If it is a feminine delusion , leave us to enjoy it while we may , for without it half the beauty and the romance of life is lost , and sorrowful forebodings would embitter all our hopes of the brave , tenderhearted little lads , who still love their mothers better than themselves and are not ashamed to own it . Laurie thought that the task of forgetting his love for Jo would absorb all his powers for years , but to his great surprise he discovered it grew easier every day . He refused to believe it at first , got angry with himself , and could n't understand it , but these hearts of ours are curious and contrary things , and time and nature work their will in spite of us . Laurie 's heart would n't ache . The wound persisted in healing with a rapidity that astonished him , and instead of trying to forget , he found himself trying to remember . He had not foreseen this turn of affairs , and was not prepared for it . He was disgusted with himself , surprised at his own fickleness , and full of a queer mixture of disappointment and relief that he could recover from such a tremendous blow so soon . He carefully stirred up the embers of his lost love , but they refused to burst into a blaze . There was only a comfortable glow that warmed and did him good without putting him into a fever , and he was reluctantly obliged to confess that the boyish passion was slowly subsiding into a more tranquil sentiment , very tender , a little sad and resentful still , but that was sure to pass away in time , leaving a brotherly affection which would last unbroken to the end . As the word ` brotherly ' passed through his mind in one of his reveries , he smiled , and glanced up at the picture of Mozart that was before him ... `` Well , he was a great man , and when he could n't have one sister he took the other , and was happy . ''
XXXXX did not utter the words , but he thought them , and the next instant kissed the little old ring , saying to himself , `` No , I wo n't !
Grundy Laurie Mozart Rome day fickleness first forebodings reveries years