` Got you there , old boy , and she 's right . You never hear me talk about clothes and such twaddle , ' said Stuffy , suppressing a yawn , and feeling for another bon-bon wherewith to refresh himself . ` You talk about eating , and that is even worse for a man . You will marry a cook and keep a restaurant some day , ' laughed Josie , down on him at once . This fearful prediction kept him silent for several moments ; but Dolly rallied , and wisely changing the subject , carried war into the enemy 's camp . ` As you wanted us to improve your manners , allow me to say that young ladies in good society do n't make personal remarks or deliver lectures . Little girls who are not out do it , and think it witty ; but I assure you it 's not good form . ' Josie paused a moment to recover from the shock of being called ' a little girl ' , when all the honours of her fourteenth birthday were fresh upon her ; and Bess said , in the lofty tone which was infinitely more crushing than Jo 's impertinence : ` That is true ; but we have lived all our lives with superior people , so we have no society talk like your young ladies . We are so accustomed to sensible conversation , and helping one another by telling our faults , that we have no gossip to offer you . ' When the Princess reproved , the boys seldom resented it ; so Dolly held his peace , and Josie burst out , following her cousin 's lead , which she thought a happy one : ` Our boys like to have us talk with them , and take kindly any hints we give . They do n't think they know everything and are quite perfect at eighteen , as I 've observed the Harvard men do , especially the very young ones . ' Josie took immense satisfaction in that return shot ; and Dolly showed that he was hit , by the nettled tone in which he answered , with a supercilious glance at the hot , dusty , and noisy crowd on the baseball ground : ` The class of fellows you have here need all the polish and culture you can give them ; and I 'm glad they get it . Our men are largely from the best families all over the country , so we do n't need girls to teach us anything . ' ` It 's a pity you do n't have more of such `` fellows '' as ours . They value and use well what college gives them , and are n't satisfied to slip through , getting all the fun they can and shirking the work . Oh , I 've heard you `` men '' talk , and heard your fathers say they wish they had n't wasted time and money just that you might say you 'd been through college . As for the girls , you 'll be much better off in all ways when they do get in , and keep you lazy things up to the mark , as we do here . ' ` If you have such a poor opinion of us , why do you wear our colour ? ' asked Dolly , painfully conscious that he was not improving the advantages his Alma Mater offered him , but bound to defend her . ' I do n't ; my hat is scarlet , not crimson .
Much you know about a XXXXX , ' scoffed Josie . '
Bess Dolly Harvard Jo Stuffy bon-bon colour fourteenth right twaddle