Chapter 75
he is the handsomest of all the boys, and very entertaining with his
stories and plans. I like him very much; he's so big and strong and
independent. I'm tired of mollycoddles and book-worms,' said Nan in
her decided way.
'Not handsomer that Nat!' cried loyal Daisy, contrasting two faces
below, one unusually gay, the other sentimentally sober even in the
act of munching cake. 'I like Dan, and am glad he is doing well; but
he tires me, and I'm still a little afraid of him. Quiet people suit
me best.'
'Life is a fight, and I like a good soldier. Boys take things too
easily, don't see how serious it all is and go to work in earnest.
Look at that absurd Tom, wasting his time and making an object of
himself just because he can't have what he wants, like a baby crying
for the moon. I've no patience with such nonsense,' scolded Nan,
looking down at the jovial Thomas, who was playfully putting
macaroons in Emil's shoes, and trying to beguile his exile as best he
could.
'Most girls would be touched by such fidelity. I think it's
beautiful,' said Daisy behind her fan; for other girls sat just
below.
'You are a sentimental goose and not a judge. Nat will be twice the
man when he comes back after his trip. I wish Tom was going with him.
My idea is that if we girls have any influence we should use it for
the good of these boys, and not pamper them up, making slaves of
ourselves and tyrants of them. Let them prove what they can do and be
before they ask anything of us, and give us a chance to do the same.
Then we know where we are, and shall not make mistakes to mourn over
all our lives.'
'Hear, hear!' cried Alice Heath, who was a girl after Nan's own
heart, and had chosen a career, like a brave and sensible young
woman. 'Only give us a chance, and have patience till we can do our
best. Now we are expected to be as wise as men who have had
generations of all the help there is, and we scarcely anything. Let
us have equal opportunities, and in a few generations we will see
what the judgement is. I like justice, and we get very little of it.'