He was her right-hand man on all occasions , steady , kind , and patient ; and he loved his merry aunt like a mother , for such she had tried to be to him . Emil was quite different , being quick-tempered , restless , and enterprising , bent on going to sea , for the blood of the old vikings stirred in his veins , and could not be tamed . His uncle promised that he should go when he was sixteen , and set him to studying navigation , gave him stories of good and famous admirals and heroes to read , and let him lead the life of a frog in river , pond , and brook , when lessons were done . His room looked like the cabin of a man-of-war , for every thing was nautical , military , and shipshape . Captain Kyd was his delight , and his favorite amusement was to rig up like that piratical gentleman , and roar out sanguinary sea-songs at the top of his voice . He would dance nothing but sailors ' hornpipes , rolled in his gait , and was as nautical in conversation to his uncle would permit . The boys called him `` Commodore , '' and took great pride in his fleet , which whitened the pond and suffered disasters that would have daunted any commander but a sea-struck boy . Demi was one of the children who show plainly the effect of intelligent love and care , for soul and body worked harmoniously together . The natural refinement which nothing but home influence can teach , gave him sweet and simple manners : his mother had cherished an innocent and loving heart in him ; his father had watched over the physical growth of his boy , and kept the little body straight and strong on wholesome food and exercise and sleep , while Grandpa March cultivated the little mind with the tender wisdom of a modern Pythagoras , not tasking it with long , hard lessons , parrot-learned , but helping it to unfold as naturally and beautifully as sun and dew help roses bloom . He was not a perfect child , by any means , but his faults were of the better sort ; and being early taught the secret of self-control , he was not left at the mercy of appetites and passions , as some poor little mortals are , and then punished for yielding to the temptations against which they have no armor . A quiet , quaint boy was Demi , serious , yet cheery , quite unconscious that he was unusually bright and beautiful , yet quick to see and love intelligence or beauty in other children . Very fond of books , and full of lively fancies , born of a strong imagination and a spiritual nature , these traits made his parents anxious to balance them with useful knowledge and healthful society , lest they should make him one of those pale precocious children who amaze and delight a family sometimes , and fade away like hot-house flowers , because the young soul blooms too soon , and has not a hearty body to root it firmly in the wholesome soil of this world . So Demi was transplanted to Plumfield , and took so kindly to the life there , that Meg and John and Grandpa felt satisfied that they had done well . Mixing with other boys brought out the practical side of him , roused his spirit , and brushed away the pretty cobwebs he was so fond of spinning in that little brain of his . To be sure , he rather shocked his mother when he came home , by banging doors , saying `` by George '' emphatically , and demanding tall thick boots `` that clumped like papa 's . '' But John rejoiced over him , laughed at his explosive remarks , got the boots , and said contentedly , `` He is doing well ; so let him clump . I want my son to be a manly boy , and this temporary roughness wo n't hurt him . We can polish him up by and by ; and as for learning , he will pick that up as pigeons do peas . So do n't hurry him . '' Daisy was as sunshiny and charming as ever , with all sorts of womanlinesses budding in her , for she was like her gentle mother , and delighted in domestic things .
She had a family of dolls , whom she brought up in the most exemplary manner ; she could not get on without her little work-basket and bits of sewing , which she did so nicely , that XXXXX frequently pulled out his handkerchief display her neat stitches , and Baby Josy had a flannel petticoat beautifully made by Sister Daisy .
Demi Emil Grandpa John Kyd Plumfield Pythagoras disasters sea-songs womanlinesses