Chapter: XXXIII. JO'S JOURNAL.


                             


                                                "NEW YORK, November.

    "DEAR MARMEE AND BETH,--

    "I'm going to write you a regular volume, for I've got heaps to
    tell, though I'm not a fine young lady travelling on the
    continent. When I lost sight of father's dear old face, I felt a
    trifle blue, and might have shed a briny drop or two, if an
    Irish lady with four small children, all crying more or less,
    hadn't diverted my mind; for I amused myself by dropping
    gingerbread nuts over the seat every time they opened their
    mouths to roar.

    "Soon the sun came out, and taking it as a good omen, I cleared
    up likewise, and enjoyed my journey with all my heart.

    "Mrs. Kirke welcomed me so kindly I felt at home at once, even
    in that big house full of strangers. She gave me a funny little
    sky-parlor--all she had; but there is a stove in it, and a nice
    table in a sunny window, so I can sit here and write whenever I
    like. A fine view and a church-tower opposite atone for the many
    stairs, and I took a fancy to my den on the spot. The nursery,
    where I am to teach and sew, is a pleasant room next Mrs.
    Kirke's private parlor, and the two little girls are pretty
    children,--rather spoilt, I fancy, but they took to me after
    telling them 'The Seven Bad Pigs;' and I've no doubt I shall
    make a model governess.

    "I am to have my meals with the children, if I prefer it to the
    great table, and for the present I do, for I _am_ bashful,
    though no one will believe it.

    "'Now, my dear, make yourself at home,' said Mrs. K. in her
    motherly way; 'I'm on the drive from morning to night, as you
    may suppose with such a family; but a great anxiety will be off
    my mind if I know the children are safe with you. My rooms are
    always open to you, and your own shall be as comfortable as I
    can make it. There are some pleasant people in the house if you
    feel sociable, and your evenings are always free. Come to me if
    anything goes wrong, and be as happy as you can. There's the
    tea-bell; I must run and change my cap;' and off she bustled,
    leaving me to settle myself in my new nest.

    "As I went downstairs, soon after, I saw something I liked. The
    flights are very long in this tall house, and as I stood waiting
    at the head of the third one for a little servant girl to lumber
    up, I saw a gentleman come along behind her, take the heavy hod
    of coal out of her hand, carry it all the way up, put it down at
    a door near by, and walk away, saying, with a kind nod and a
    foreign accent,--

    "'It goes better so. The little back is too young to haf such
    heaviness.'

    "Wasn't it good of him? I like such things, for, as father says,
    trifles show character. When I mentioned it to Mrs. K., that
    evening, she laughed, and said,--

    "'That must have been Professor Bhaer; he's always doing things
    of that sort.'

    "Mrs. K. told me he was from Berlin; very learned and good, but
    poor as a church-mouse, and gives lessons to support himself and
    two little orphan nephews whom he is educating here, according
    to the wishes of his sister, who married an American. Not a very
    romantic story, but it interested me; and I was glad to hear
    that Mrs. K. lends him her parlor for some of his scholars.
    There is a glass door between it and the nursery, and I mean to
    peep at him, and then I'll tell you how he looks. He's almost
    forty, so it's no harm, Marmee.

    "After tea and a go-to-bed romp with the little girls, I
    attacked the big work-basket, and had a quiet evening chatting
    with my new friend. I shall keep a journal-letter, and send it
    once a week; so good-night, and more to-morrow."

                                                     "_Tuesday Eve._

    "Had a lively time in my seminary, this morning, for the
    children acted like Sancho; and at one time I really thought I
    should shake them all round. Some good angel inspired me to try
    gymnastics, and I kept it up till they were glad to sit down and
    keep still. After luncheon, the girl took them out for a walk,
    and I went to my needle-work, like little Mabel, 'with a willing
    mind.' I was thanking my stars that I'd learned to make nice
    button-holes, when the parlor-door opened and shut, and some one
    began to hum,--

                         'Kennst du das land,'

    like a big bumble-bee. It was dreadfully improper, I know, but I
    couldn't resist the temptation; and lifting one end of the
    curtain before the glass door, I peeped in. Professor Bhaer was
    there; and while he arranged his books, I took a good look at
    him. A regular German,--rather stout, with brown hair tumbled
    all over his head, a bushy beard, good nose, the kindest eyes I
    ever saw, and a splendid big voice that does one's ears good,
    after our sharp or slipshod American gabble. His clothes were
    rusty, his hands were large, and he hadn't a really handsome
    feature in his face, except his beautiful teeth; yet I liked
    him, for he had a fine head; his linen was very nice, and he
    looked like a gentleman, though two buttons were off his coat,
    and there was a patch on one shoe. He looked sober in spite of
    his humming, till he went to the window to turn the hyacinth
    bulbs toward the sun, and stroke the cat, who received him like
    an old friend. Then he smiled; and when a tap came at the door,
    called out in a loud, brisk tone,--

    "'Herein!'

    "I was just going to run, when I caught sight of a morsel of a
    child carrying a big book, and stopped to see what was going on.

    "'Me wants my Bhaer,' said the mite, slamming down her book, and
    running to meet him.

    "'Thou shalt haf thy Bhaer; come, then, and take a goot hug from
    him, my Tina,' said the Professor, catching her up, with a
    laugh, and holding her so high over his head that she had to
    stoop her little face to kiss him.

                [Illustration: Thou shalt haf thy Bhaer]

    "'Now me mus tuddy my lessin,' went on the funny little thing;
    so he put her up at the table, opened the great dictionary she
    had brought, and gave her a paper and pencil, and she scribbled
    away, turning a leaf now and then, and passing her little fat
    finger down the page, as if finding a word, so soberly that I
    nearly betrayed myself by a laugh, while Mr. Bhaer stood
    stroking her pretty hair, with a fatherly look, that made me
    think she must be his own, though she looked more French than
    German.

    "Another knock and the appearance of two young ladies sent me
    back to my work, and there I virtuously remained through all the
    noise and gabbling that went on next door. One of the girls kept
    laughing affectedly, and saying 'Now Professor,' in a
    coquettish tone, and the other pronounced her German with an
    accent that must have made it hard for him to keep sober.

    "Both seemed to try his patience sorely; for more than once I
    heard him say emphatically, 'No, no, it is _not_ so; you haf not
    attend to what I say;' and once there was a loud rap, as if he
    struck the table with his book, followed by the despairing
    exclamation, 'Prut! it all goes bad this day.'

    "Poor man, I pitied him; and when the girls were gone, took just
    one more peep, to see if he survived it. He seemed to have
    thrown himself back in his chair, tired out, and sat there with
    his eyes shut till the clock struck two, when he jumped up, put
    his books in his pocket, as if ready for another lesson, and,
    taking little Tina, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, in his
    arms, he carried her quietly away. I fancy he has a hard life of
    it.

    "Mrs. Kirke asked me if I wouldn't go down to the five o'clock
    dinner; and, feeling a little bit homesick, I thought I would,
    just to see what sort of people are under the same roof with me.
    So I made myself respectable, and tried to slip in behind Mrs.
    Kirke; but as she is short, and I'm tall, my efforts at
    concealment were rather a failure. She gave me a seat by her,
    and after my face cooled off, I plucked up courage, and looked
    about me. The long table was full, and every one intent on
    getting their dinner,--the gentlemen especially, who seemed to
    be eating on time, for they _bolted_ in every sense of the word,
    vanishing as soon as they were done. There was the usual
    assortment of young men absorbed in themselves; young couples
    absorbed in each other; married ladies in their babies, and old
    gentlemen in politics. I don't think I shall care to have much
    to do with any of them, except one sweet-faced maiden lady, who
    looks as if she had something in her.

    "Cast away at the very bottom of the table was the Professor,
    shouting answers to the questions of a very inquisitive, deaf
    old gentleman on one side, and talking philosophy with a
    Frenchman on the other. If Amy had been here, she'd have turned
    her back on him forever, because, sad to relate, he had a great
    appetite, and shovelled in his dinner in a manner which would
    have horrified 'her ladyship.' I didn't mind, for I like 'to see
    folks eat with a relish,' as Hannah says, and the poor man must
    have needed a deal of food after teaching idiots all day.

    "As I went upstairs after dinner, two of the young men were
    settling their hats before the hall-mirror, and I heard one say
    low to the other, 'Who's the new party?'

    "'Governess, or something of that sort.'

    "'What the deuce is she at our table for?'

    "'Friend of the old lady's.'

    "'Handsome head, but no style.'

    "'Not a bit of it. Give us a light and come on.'

    "I felt angry at first, and then I didn't care, for a governess
    is as good as a clerk, and I've got sense, if I haven't style,
    which is more than some people have, judging from the remarks of
    the elegant beings who clattered away, smoking like bad
    chimneys. I hate ordinary people!"

                                                        "_Thursday._

    "Yesterday was a quiet day, spent in teaching, sewing, and
    writing in my little room, which is very cosey, with a light and
    fire. I picked up a few bits of news, and was introduced to the
    Professor. It seems that Tina is the child of the Frenchwoman
    who does the fine ironing in the laundry here. The little thing
    has lost her heart to Mr. Bhaer, and follows him about the house
    like a dog whenever he is at home, which delights him, as he is
    very fond of children, though a 'bacheldore.' Kitty and Minnie
    Kirke likewise regard him with affection, and tell all sorts of
    stories about the plays he invents, the presents he brings, and
    the splendid tales he tells. The young men quiz him, it seems,
    call him Old Fritz, Lager Beer, Ursa Major, and make all manner
    of jokes on his name. But he enjoys it like a boy, Mrs. K. says,
    and takes it so good-naturedly that they all like him, in spite
    of his foreign ways.

    "The maiden lady is a Miss Norton,--rich, cultivated, and kind.
    She spoke to me at dinner to-day (for I went to table again,
    it's such fun to watch people), and asked me to come and see her
    at her room. She has fine books and pictures, knows interesting
    persons, and seems friendly; so I shall make myself agreeable,
    for I _do_ want to get into good society, only it isn't the same
    sort that Amy likes.

    "I was in our parlor last evening, when Mr. Bhaer came in with
    some newspapers for Mrs. Kirke. She wasn't there, but Minnie,
    who is a little old woman, introduced me very prettily: 'This is
    mamma's friend, Miss March.'

    "'Yes; and she's jolly and we like her lots,' added Kitty, who
    is an _enfant terrible_.

    "We both bowed, and then we laughed, for the prim introduction
    and the blunt addition were rather a comical contrast.

    "'Ah, yes, I hear these naughty ones go to vex you, Mees Marsch.
    If so again, call at me and I come,' he said, with a threatening
    frown that delighted the little wretches.

    "I promised I would, and he departed; but it seems as if I was
    doomed to see a good deal of him, for to-day, as I passed his
    door on my way out, by accident I knocked against it with my
    umbrella. It flew open, and there he stood in his dressing gown,
    with a big blue sock on one hand, and a darning-needle in the
    other; he didn't seem at all ashamed of it, for when I explained
    and hurried on, he waved his hand, sock and all, saying in his
    loud, cheerful way,--

            [Illustration: He waved his hand, sock and all]

    "'You haf a fine day to make your walk. _Bon voyage,
    mademoiselle._'

    "I laughed all the way downstairs; but it was a little pathetic,
    also, to think of the poor man having to mend his own clothes.
    The German gentlemen embroider, I know; but darning hose is
    another thing, and not so pretty."

                                                        "_Saturday._

    "Nothing has happened to write about, except a call on Miss
    Norton, who has a room full of lovely things, and who was very
    charming, for she showed me all her treasures, and asked me if I
    would sometimes go with her to lectures and concerts, as her
    escort,--if I enjoyed them. She put it as a favor, but I'm sure
    Mrs. Kirke has told her about us, and she does it out of
    kindness to me. I'm as proud as Lucifer, but such favors from
    such people don't burden me, and I accepted gratefully.

    "When I got back to the nursery there was such an uproar in the
    parlor that I looked in; and there was Mr. Bhaer down on his
    hands and knees, with Tina on his back, Kitty leading him with a
    jump-rope, and Minnie feeding two small boys with seed-cakes, as
    they roared and ramped in cages built of chairs.

    "'We are playing _nargerie_,' explained Kitty.

    "'Dis is mine effalunt!' added Tina, holding on by the
    Professor's hair.

                  [Illustration: Dis is mine effalunt]

    "'Mamma always allows us to do what we like Saturday afternoon,
    when Franz and Emil come, doesn't she, Mr. Bhaer?' said
    Minnie.

    "The 'effalunt' sat up, looking as much in earnest as any of
    them, and said soberly to me,--

    "'I gif you my wort it is so. If we make too large a noise you
    shall say "Hush!" to us, and we go more softly.'

    "I promised to do so, but left the door open, and enjoyed the
    fun as much as they did,--for a more glorious frolic I never
    witnessed. They played tag and soldiers, danced and sung, and
    when it began to grow dark they all piled on to the sofa about
    the Professor, while he told charming fairy stories of the
    storks on the chimney-tops, and the little 'kobolds,' who ride
    the snow-flakes as they fall. I wish Americans were as simple
    and natural as Germans, don't you?

    "I'm so fond of writing, I should go spinning on forever if
    motives of economy didn't stop me, for though I've used thin
    paper and written fine, I tremble to think of the stamps this
    long letter will need. Pray forward Amy's as soon as you can
    spare them. My small news will sound very flat after her
    splendors, but you will like them, I know. Is Teddy studying so
    hard that he can't find time to write to his friends? Take good
    care of him for me, Beth, and tell me all about the babies, and
    give heaps of love to every one.

                                "From your faithful              JO.

    "P. S. On reading over my letter it strikes me as rather Bhaery;
    but I am always interested in odd people, and I really had
    nothing else to write about. Bless you!"

                                                         "DECEMBER.

    "MY PRECIOUS BETSEY,--

    "As this is to be a scribble-scrabble letter, I direct it to
    you, for it may amuse you, and give you some idea of my goings
    on; for, though quiet, they are rather amusing, for which, oh,
    be joyful! After what Amy would call Herculaneum efforts, in the
    way of mental and moral agriculture, my young ideas begin to
    shoot and my little twigs to bend as I could wish. They are not
    so interesting to me as Tina and the boys, but I do my duty by
    them, and they are fond of me. Franz and Emil are jolly little
    lads, quite after my own heart; for the mixture of German and
    American spirit in them produces a constant state of
    effervescence. Saturday afternoons are riotous times, whether
    spent in the house or out; for on pleasant days they all go to
    walk, like a seminary, with the Professor and myself to keep
    order; and then such fun!

    "We are very good friends now, and I've begun to take lessons. I
    really couldn't help it, and it all came about in such a droll
    way that I must tell you. To begin at the beginning, Mrs. Kirke
    called to me, one day, as I passed Mr. Bhaer's room, where she
    was rummaging.

    "'Did you ever see such a den, my dear? Just come and help me
    put these books to rights, for I've turned everything upside
    down, trying to discover what he has done with the six new
    handkerchiefs I gave him not long ago.'

    "I went in, and while we worked I looked about me, for it was 'a
    den,' to be sure. Books and papers everywhere; a broken
    meerschaum, and an old flute over the mantel-piece as if done
    with; a ragged bird, without any tail, chirped on one
    window-seat, and a box of white mice adorned the other;
    half-finished boats and bits of string lay among the
    manuscripts; dirty little boots stood drying before the fire;
    and traces of the dearly beloved boys, for whom he makes a slave
    of himself, were to be seen all over the room. After a grand
    rummage three of the missing articles were found,--one over the
    bird-cage, one covered with ink, and a third burnt brown, having
    been used as a holder.

    "'Such a man!' laughed good-natured Mrs. K., as she put the
    relics in the rag-bag. 'I suppose the others are torn up to rig
    ships, bandage cut fingers, or make kite-tails. It's dreadful,
    but I can't scold him: he's so absent-minded and good-natured,
    he lets those boys ride over him rough-shod. I agreed to do his
    washing and mending, but he forgets to give out his things and I
    forget to look them over, so he comes to a sad pass sometimes.'

    "'Let me mend them,' said I. 'I don't mind it, and he needn't
    know. I'd like to,--he's so kind to me about bringing my letters
    and lending books.'

    "So I have got his things in order, and knit heels into two
    pairs of the socks,--for they were boggled out of shape with his
    queer darns. Nothing was said, and I hoped he wouldn't find it
    out, but one day last week he caught me at it. Hearing the
    lessons he gives to others has interested and amused me so much
    that I took a fancy to learn; for Tina runs in and out, leaving
    the door open, and I can hear. I had been sitting near this
    door, finishing off the last sock, and trying to understand what
    he said to a new scholar, who is as stupid as I am. The girl had
    gone, and I thought he had also, it was so still, and I was
    busily gabbling over a verb, and rocking to and fro in a most
    absurd way, when a little crow made me look up, and there was
    Mr. Bhaer looking and laughing quietly, while he made signs to
    Tina not to betray him.

    "'So!' he said, as I stopped and stared like a goose, 'you peep
    at me, I peep at you, and that is not bad; but see, I am not
    pleasanting when I say, haf you a wish for German?'

    "'Yes; but you are too busy. I am too stupid to learn,' I
    blundered out, as red as a peony.

    "'Prut! we will make the time, and we fail not to find the
    sense. At efening I shall gif a little lesson with much
    gladness; for, look you, Mees Marsch, I haf this debt to pay,'
    and he pointed to my work. 'Yes, they say to one another, these
    so kind ladies, "he is a stupid old fellow; he will see not what
    we do; he will never opserve that his sock-heels go not in holes
    any more, he will think his buttons grow out new when they fall,
    and believe that strings make theirselves." Ah! but I haf an
    eye, and I see much. I haf a heart, and I feel the thanks for
    this. Come, a little lesson then and now, or no more good fairy
    works for me and mine.'

    "Of course I couldn't say anything after that, and as it really
    is a splendid opportunity, I made the bargain, and we began. I
    took four lessons, and then I stuck fast in a grammatical bog.
    The Professor was very patient with me, but it must have been
    torment to him, and now and then he'd look at me with such an
    expression of mild despair that it was a toss-up with me whether
    to laugh or cry. I tried both ways; and when it came to a sniff
    of utter mortification and woe, he just threw the grammar on to
    the floor, and marched out of the room. I felt myself disgraced
    and deserted forever, but didn't blame him a particle, and was
    scrambling my papers together, meaning to rush upstairs and
    shake myself hard, when in he came, as brisk and beaming as if
    I'd covered myself with glory.

    "'Now we shall try a new way. You and I will read these pleasant
    little Märchen together, and dig no more in that dry book, that
    goes in the corner for making us trouble.'

    "He spoke so kindly, and opened Hans Andersen's fairy tales so
    invitingly before me, that I was more ashamed than ever, and
    went at my lesson in a neck-or-nothing style that seemed to
    amuse him immensely. I forgot my bashfulness, and pegged away
    (no other word will express it) with all my might, tumbling over
    long words, pronouncing according to the inspiration of the
    minute, and doing my very best. When I finished reading my first
    page, and stopped for breath, he clapped his hands and cried
    out, in his hearty way, 'Das ist gute! Now we go well! My turn.
    I do him in German; gif me your ear.' And away he went, rumbling
    out the words with his strong voice, and a relish which was good
    to see as well as hear. Fortunately the story was the 'Constant
    Tin Soldier,' which is droll, you know, so I could laugh,--and I
    did,--though I didn't understand half he read, for I couldn't
    help it, he was so earnest, I so excited, and the whole thing so
    comical.

    "After that we got on better, and now I read my lessons pretty
    well; for this way of studying suits me, and I can see that the
    grammar gets tucked into the tales and poetry as one gives pills
    in jelly. I like it very much, and he doesn't seem tired of it
    yet,--which is very good of him, isn't it? I mean to give him
    something on Christmas, for I dare not offer money. Tell me
    something nice, Marmee.

    "I'm glad Laurie seems so happy and busy, that he has given up
    smoking, and lets his hair grow. You see Beth manages him better
    than I did. I'm not jealous, dear; do your best, only don't make
    a saint of him. I'm afraid I couldn't like him without a spice
    of human naughtiness. Read him bits of my letters. I haven't
    time to write much, and that will do just as well. Thank Heaven
    Beth continues so comfortable."


                                                           "JANUARY.

    "A Happy New Year to you all, my dearest family, which of course
    includes Mr. L. and a young man by the name of Teddy. I can't
    tell you how much I enjoyed your Christmas bundle, for I didn't
    get it till night, and had given up hoping. Your letter came in
    the morning, but you said nothing about a parcel, meaning it
    for a surprise; so I was disappointed, for I'd had a 'kind of a
    feeling' that you wouldn't forget me. I felt a little low in my
    mind, as I sat up in my room, after tea; and when the big,
    muddy, battered-looking bundle was brought to me, I just hugged
    it, and pranced. It was so _homey_ and refreshing, that I sat
    down on the floor and read and looked and ate and laughed and
    cried, in my usual absurd way. The things were just what I
    wanted, and all the better for being made instead of bought.
    Beth's new 'ink-bib' was capital; and Hannah's box of hard
    gingerbread will be a treasure. I'll be sure and wear the nice
    flannels you sent, Marmee, and read carefully the books father
    has marked. Thank you all, heaps and heaps!

 [Illustration: I sat down upon the floor and read and looked and ate]

    "Speaking of books reminds me that I'm getting rich in that
    line for, on New Year's Day, Mr. Bhaer gave me a fine
    Shakespeare. It is one he values much, and I've often admired
    it, set up in the place of honor, with his German Bible, Plato,
    Homer, and Milton; so you may imagine how I felt when he
    brought it down, without its cover, and showed me my name in
    it, 'from my friend Friedrich Bhaer.'

    "'You say often you wish a library: here I gif you one; for
    between these lids (he meant covers) is many books in one. Read
    him well, and he will help you much; for the study of character
    in this book will help you to read it in the world and paint it
    with your pen.'

    "I thanked him as well as I could, and talk now about 'my
    library,' as if I had a hundred books. I never knew how much
    there was in Shakespeare before; but then I never had a Bhaer to
    explain it to me. Now _don't_ laugh at his horrid name; it isn't
    pronounced either Bear or Beer, as people _will_ say it, but
    something between the two, as only Germans can give it. I'm glad
    you both like what I tell you about him, and hope you will know
    him some day. Mother would admire his warm heart, father his
    wise head. I admire both, and feel rich in my new 'friend
    Friedrich Bhaer.'

    "Not having much money, or knowing what he'd like, I got several
    little things, and put them about the room, where he would find
    them unexpectedly. They were useful, pretty, or funny,--a new
    standish on his table, a little vase for his flower,--he always
    has one, or a bit of green in a glass, to keep him fresh, he
    says,--and a holder for his blower, so that he needn't burn up
    what Amy calls 'mouchoirs.' I made it like those Beth
    invented,--a big butterfly with a fat body, and black and yellow
    wings, worsted feelers, and bead eyes. It took his fancy
    immensely, and he put it on his mantel-piece as an article of
    _vertu_; so it was rather a failure after all. Poor as he is, he
    didn't forget a servant or a child in the house; and not a soul
    here, from the French laundry-woman to Miss Norton, forgot him.
    I was so glad of that.

    "They got up a masquerade, and had a gay time New Year's Eve. I
    didn't mean to go down, having no dress; but at the last minute,
    Mrs. Kirke remembered some old brocades, and Miss Norton lent me
    lace and feathers; so I dressed up as Mrs. Malaprop, and sailed
    in with a mask on. No one knew me, for I disguised my voice, and
    no one dreamed of the silent, haughty Miss March (for they think
    I am very stiff and cool, most of them; and so I am to
    whipper-snappers) could dance and dress, and burst out into a
    'nice derangement of epitaphs, like an allegory on the banks of
    the Nile.' I enjoyed it very much; and when we unmasked, it was
    fun to see them stare at me. I heard one of the young men tell
    another that he knew I'd been an actress; in fact, he thought he
    remembered seeing me at one of the minor theatres. Meg will
    relish that joke. Mr. Bhaer was Nick Bottom, and Tina was
    Titania,--a perfect little fairy in his arms. To see them dance
    was 'quite a landscape,' to use a Teddyism.

    "I had a very happy New Year, after all; and when I thought it
    over in my room, I felt as if I was getting on a little in spite
    of my many failures; for I'm cheerful all the time now, work
    with a will, and take more interest in other people than I used
    to, which is satisfactory. Bless you all! Ever your loving

                                                                JO."

                       [Illustration: Tail-piece]




           [Illustration: In the presence of three gentlemen]

 Jo's Journal Jo's letters describe her new home, a funny room in the boardinghouse, and her two pupils. Mrs. Kirke is quite kind, but busy, and Jo finds herself bashful in the big house. Jo observes Professor Bhaer, an older, poor German who tutors to support his nephews. As her pupils' nursery is next to Mr. Bhaer's study, she often listens to him humming Goethe or observes him teaching and playing with the children, doing kind things for the servants, and discussing philosophy with the young men. Jo also befriends Miss Norton, a rich gentlewoman at the house. Jo and the Professor become good friends, since they both have lively spirits and enjoy children and literature. Out of thanks for his kindness, Jo asks Mrs. Kirke if she might help with mending Mr. Bhaer's clothes, which he does himself, and in return, Mr. Bhaer gives her German lessons. At New Year's they exchange gifts, and their friendship flourishes beautifully. Jo is grateful for her friend, as she does not enjoy the "whippersnappers" in the house. At a masquerade ball, she goes down and is quite sociable and theatrical, and all are surprised at the unmasking that it was Jo all along

