Chapter 22
window, to see him skip in at the other, while Mrs Jo shut her fan
and held it ready to rap her unruly boy's knuckles if he came near
her again.
Nat approached in answer to Mr Bhaer's beckoning teaspoon, and stood
before them with a face full of the respectful affection he felt for
the excellent man who had done so much for him.
'I have the letters ready for thee, my son. They are two old friends
of mine in Leipzig, who will befriend thee in that new life. It is
well to have them, for thou wilt be heartbroken with Heimweh at the
first, Nat, and need comforting,' said the Professor, giving him
several letters.
'Thanks, sir. Yes, I expect to be pretty lonely till I get started,
then my music and the hope of getting on will cheer me up,' answered
Nat, who both longed and dreaded to leave all these friends behind
him and make new ones.
He was a man now; but the blue eyes were as honest as ever, the mouth
still a little weak, in spite of the carefully cherished moustache
over it, and the broad forehead more plainly than ever betrayed the
music-loving nature of the youth. Modest, affectionate, and dutiful,
Nat was considered a pleasant though not a brilliant success by Mrs
Jo. She loved and trusted him, and was sure he would do his best, but
did not expect that he would be great in any way, unless the stimulus
of foreign training and self-dependence made him a better artist and
a stronger man than now seemed likely.
'I've marked all your things--or rather, Daisy did--and as soon as
your books are collected, we can see about the packing,' said Mrs Jo,
who was so used to fitting boys off for all quarters of the globe
that a trip to the North Pole would not have been too much for her.
Nat grew red at mention of that name--or was it the last glow of
sunset on his rather pale cheek?--and his heart beat happily at the
thought of the dear girl working Ns and Bs on his humble socks and
handkerchiefs; for Nat adored Daisy, and the cherished dream of his
life was to earn a place for himself as a musician and win this angel