If anything could comfort the Bhaers for the loss of one boy , it would have been the affection and sorrow shown by all the rest . Franz kept the cable busy with his varying messages , Nat sent loving letters from Leipzig , and Tom harassed the shipping agents for news . Even busy Jack wrote them with unusual warmth ; Dolly and George came often , bearing the loveliest flowers and the daintiest bon-bons to cheer Mrs Bhaer and sweeten Josie 's grief ; while good-hearted Ned travelled all the way from Chicago to press their hands and say , with a tear in his eye : ' I was so anxious to hear all about the dear old boy , I could n't keep away . ' ` That 's right comfortable , and shows me that if I did n't teach my boys anything else , I did give them the brotherly love that will make them stand by one another all their lives , ' said Mrs Jo , when he had gone . Rob answered reams of sympathizing letters , which showed how many friends they had ; and the kindly praises of the lost man would have made Emil a hero and a saint , had they all been true . The elders bore it quietly , having learned submission in life 's hard school ; but the younger people rebelled ; some hoped against hope and kept up , others despaired at once , and little Josie , Emil 's pet cousin and playmate , was so broken-hearted nothing could comfort her . Nan dosed in vain , Daisy 's cheerful words went by like the wind , and Bess 's devices to amuse her all failed utterly . To cry in mother 's arms and talk about the wreck , which haunted her even in her sleep , was all she cared to do ; and Mrs Meg was getting anxious when Miss Cameron sent Josie a kind note bidding her learn bravely her first lesson in real tragedy , and be like the self-sacrificing heroines she loved to act . That did the little girl good , and she made an effort in which Teddy and Octoo helped her much ; for the boy was deeply impressed by this sudden eclipse of the firefly whose light and life all missed when they were gone , and lured her out every day for long drives behind the black mare , who shook her silvery bells till they made such merry music Josie could not help listening to it , and whisked her over the snowy roads at a pace which set the blood dancing in her veins and sent her home strengthened and comforted by sunshine , fresh air , and congenial society -- three aids young sufferers seldom can resist . As Emil was helping nurse Captain Hardy , safe and well , aboard the ship , all this sorrow would seem wasted ; but it was not , for it drew many hearts more closely together by a common grief , taught some patience , some sympathy , some regret for faults that lie heavy on the conscience when the one sinned against is gone , and all of them the solemn lesson to be ready when the summons comes . A hush lay over Plumfield for weeks , and the studious faces on the hill reflected the sadness of those in the valley . Sacred music sounded from Parnassus to comfort all who heard ; the brown cottage was beseiged with gifts for the little mourner , and Emil 's flag hung at half-mast on the roof where he last sat with Mrs Jo . So the weeks went heavily by till suddenly , like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky , came the news , ` All safe , letters on the way . ' Then up went the flag , out rang the college bells , bang went Teddy 's long-unused cannon , and a chorus of happy voices cried ` Thank God ' , as people went about , laughing , crying , and embracing one another in a rapture of delight . By and by the longed-for letters came , and all the story of the wreck was told ; briefly by Emil , eloquently by Mrs Hardy , gratefully by the captain , while Mary added a few tender words that went straight to their hearts and seemed the sweetest of all . Never were letters so read , passed round , admired , and cried over as these ; for Mrs Jo carried them in her pocket when Mr Bhaer did not have them in his , and both took a look at them when they said their prayers at night . Now the Professor was heard humming like a big bee again as he went to his classes , and the lines smoothed out of Mother Bhaer 's forehead , while she wrote this real story to anxious friends and let her romances wait . Now messages of congratulation flowed in , and beaming faces showed everywhere . Rob amazed his parents by producing a poem which was remarkably good for one of his years , and Demi set it to music that it might be sung when the sailor boy returned . Teddy stood on his head literally , and tore about the neighbourhood on Octoo , like a second Paul Revere -- only his tidings were good .
But best of all , little XXXXX lifted up her head as the snowdrops did , and began to bloom again , growing tall and quiet , with the shadow of past sorrow to tone down her former vivacity and show that she had learned a lesson in trying to act well her part on the real stage , where all have to take their share in the great drama of life .
Bess Bhaer Chicago Josie Meg Octoo Professor Revere Tom night