It took all Nat 's pride and courage to do this , for his was a sensitive nature ; esteem was very precious to him , failure very bitter , and nothing but the inborn contempt for meanness and deceit kept him from asking help or trying to hide his need by some dishonest device . As he sat alone that night , Mr Bhaer 's words came back to him with curious clearness , and he saw himself a boy again at Plumfield , punishing his teacher as a lesson to himself , when timidity had made him lie . ` He shall not suffer for me again , and I wo n't be a sneak if I am a fool . I 'll go and tell Professor Baumgarten all about it and ask his advice . I 'd rather face a loaded cannon ; but it must be done . Then I 'll sell out , pay my debts , and go back where I belong . Better be an honest pauper than a jackdaw among peacocks ' ; and Nat smiled in the midst of his trouble , as he looked about him at the little elegancies of his room , remembering what he came from . He kept his word manfully , and was much comforted to find that his experience was an old story to the professor , who approved his plan , thinking wisely that the discipline would be good for him , and was very kind in offering help and promising to keep the secret of his folly from his friend Bhaer till Nat had redeemed himself . The first week of the new year was spent by our prodigal in carrying out his plan with penitent dispatch , and his birthday found him alone in the little room high up at Frau Tetzel 's , with nothing of his former splendour , but sundry unsalable keepsakes from the buxom maidens , who mourned his absence deeply . His male friends had ridiculed , pitied , and soon left him alone , with one or two exceptions , who offered their purses generously and promised to stand by him . He was lonely and heavy-hearted , and sat brooding over his small fire as he remembered the last New Year 's Day at Plumfield , when at this hour he was dancing with his Daisy . A tap at the door roused him , and with a careless ` Herein ' , he waited to see who had climbed so far for his sake . It was the good Frau proudly bearing a tray , on which stood a bottle of wine and an astonishing cake bedecked with sugar-plums of every hue , and crowned with candles . Fraulein Vogelstein followed , embracing a blooming rose-tree , above which her grey curls waved and her friendly face beamed joyfully as she cried : ` Dear Herr Blak , we bring you greetings and a little gift or two in honour of this ever-to-be-remembered day . Best wishes ! and may the new year bloom for you as beautifully as we your heart-warm friends desire . ' ` Yes , yes , in truth we do , dear Herr , ' added Frau Tetzel . ` Eat of this with-joy-made Kuchen , and drink to the health of the far-away beloved ones in the good wine . ' Amused , yet touched by the kindness of the good souls , Nat thanked them both , and made them stay to enjoy the humble feast with him . This they gladly did , being motherly women full of pity for the dear youth , whose straits they knew , and having substantial help to offer , as well as kind words and creature comforts .
Frau XXXXX , with some hesitation , mentioned a friend of hers who , forced by illness to leave his place in the orchestra of a second-rate theatre , would gladly offer it to Nat , if he could accept so humble a position .
Baumgarten Kuchen Plumfield Tetzel Vogelstein fire keepsakes left night rose-tree