The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1920-11-18

~ Il
~ S$SS ~ a experience of a
NJ rs {A year at Fruitlands,
H. - I've &9seG where an attempt
was made to
tablish mn ideal community. Miss AIcott
was obliged to be wage Garner TO
help out the family income, and SO
taught school, served gOverness
and mt times worked as seanistress.
Wearyfng OF this, she wrote for the
papers stories OF n Sensational nature,
which were remuneratiye financially
hut unsatisfactory to her as literary
pursuit, and she abandoned this style
of writing.
In n Washington hospital she served
ms nurse for n time, but the work
was hard that she failed I'm health.
and when she recovered she had TO find
new fields of work; then she travelled
ms attendant to an invalid, and with
her visited Europe.
After several attempts at literature
Miss Alcott wrote Little Women"
which was an Immediate success, reach
Ing n sale of $1,000 copies I'm three
years. She wrote from the heart, and
wove into the story incidents from the
lives of herself and her three sisters
mt Concord. She afterward wrote "a.
Old Fashioned Girl" "LittIe Men,
"Aunt JOS Scrap Bag" "The Eight
Cousins" and "Rose in Bloom" besides
other stories and sketches.
Miss Alcett had ambition and ability
for a high grade of literary work, she
made her success No q writer of chill
dren's stories. While her receipts from
some later wsrk were large for those
times, she declared that she was nore
Presd Of the nrst sS7 size received than
Of the larger amounts later.
One generation after another Of
young readers hnds pleasure In Miss Al
cett's cheery, healthfuI stories. and
their vitality IL Indicated by their .p-
pcarsnee en- the movie screen.
I'm their sld-fashioned New England
home the little women lived with
. Mrs. March, their brisk and CHEEKY
mother, who always had "can-I-help
you" look about her, and whom her
four girls lovingly called "Marmee."
Pretty Neg, the oldest, was sixteen.
and already showed domestic tastes
and talents, though she detested the
drudgery Of household work; ald, q
little vain Of her white hands, longed
at heart to be q fine lady. 10, fifteen
was tall, thin and coItish, and gloried
in an unconcealed scorn Of polite con-
ventions. Beth, thirteen, was a low
able little thing. shy, fond Of her dolls
and devoted to music, which she tried
hopefully to produce from the old,
jingling tinpan Of piano. Amy
twelve, considered herself the flower
OF the family. An adorable blonde,
she admitted that the trial Of her life
was her nose. For, when she was
baby, 10 had accidentally dropped her
into the coal-hod and permanently
fiattened that feature, and though poor
Amy slept with a patent clothespin
pinching 1T, she couldn't attain the
Grecian effect she so much desired.
Father March was an army chap
lain in the Civil war, and in his abb
sence 10 declared herself to be the
man Of the family. To add to their
slender income she went every day to
read to Aunt March, q peppery old
lady; and Meg, too, earned small
salary as daily nursery governess to
neighbours children.
In the big house next door to the
Marches lived a rich old gentleman,
Mr.. Laurence, and his grandson, a
jolly chummy boy called Laurie.
Though awe-inspiring at first, Mr..
Laurence proved both kindly and gen.
erous, and even timid Beth mustered
up courage to go over to the palace
Beautiful" at twilight and play softly
on the grand piano there. But, as she
confessed to her mother, when she be-
gan she was so frightened her feet
chartered on the floor.
The night Laurie took the two older
girls to the theater, Amy, though not
invited, insisted on going, too. 10
GROSSLY declared she wouldn't go II
Amy did, and furiously scoding her
little sister, she slammed the door and
went off, as Amy called out: you'll
be sorry for this. 10 march, See If
you ANTI" The child made good her
threat by burning up the manuscript
of a precious book which 10 had writ
ten and on which she had spent three
years OF hard work. There was ter
rible fracas, and, though at her moth
er's bidding Amy made contrite apol-
ogy, 10 refused to be pacified. 1t was
only when poor little Amy was nearly
drowned by falling through the ice
that conscience-stricken 10 forgave her
sister and learned a much-needed les
son Of self-control.
Meg, too, learned salutary lesson.
when she went to visit some fash
ionable friends and had her first taste
OF vanity Fair" Her sisters gladly
lent her all their best things, and. as
she said to 10: you're a dear to
lend me your gloves I feel so rich