’If anyone had told me what
wonderful changes were to take place here in ten years,
I wouldn’t have believed it,’ said Mrs
Jo to Mrs Meg, as they sat on the piazza at Plumfield
one summer day, looking about them with faces full
of pride and pleasure.
’This is the sort of magic that
money and kind hearts can work. I am sure Mr
Laurence could have no nobler monument than the college
he so generously endowed; and a home like this will
keep Aunt March’s memory green as long as it
lasts,’ answered Mrs Meg, always glad to praise
the absent.
’We used to believe in fairies,
you remember, and plan what we’d ask for if
we could have three wishes. Doesn’t it seem
as if mine had been really granted at last? Money,
fame, and plenty of the work I love,’ said Mrs
Jo, carelessly rumpling up her hair as she clasped
her hands over her head just as she used to do when
a girl.
’I have had mine, and Amy is
enjoying hers to her heart’s content. If
dear Marmee, John, and Beth were here, it would be
quite perfect,’ added Meg, with a tender quiver
in her voice; for Marmee’s place was empty now.
Jo put her hand on her sister’s,
and both sat silent for a little while, surveying
the pleasant scene before them with mingled sad and
happy thoughts.
It certainly did look as if magic
had been at work, for quiet Plumfield was transformed
into a busy little world. The house seemed more
hospitable than ever, refreshed now with new paint,
added wings, well-kept lawn and garden, and a prosperous
air it had not worn when riotous boys swarmed everywhere
and it was rather difficult for the Bhaers to make
both ends meet. On the hill, where kites used
to be flown, stood the fine college which Mr Laurence’s
munificent legacy had built. Busy students were
going to and fro along the paths once trodden by childish
feet, and many young men and women were enjoying all
the advantages that wealth, wisdom, and benevolence
could give them.
Just inside the gates of Plumfield
a pretty brown cottage, very like the Dovecote, nestled
among the trees, and on the green slope westward Laurie’s
white-pillared mansion glittered in the sunshine; for
when the rapid growth of the city shut in the old
house, spoilt Meg’s nest, and dared to put a
soap-factory under Mr Laurence’s indignant nose,
our friends emigrated to Plumfield, and the great
changes began.
These were the pleasant ones; and
the loss of the dear old people was sweetened by the
blessings they left behind; so all prospered now in
the little community, and Mr Bhaer as president, and
Mr March as chaplain of the college, saw their long-cherished
dream beautifully realized. The sisters divided
the care of the young people among them, each taking
the part that suited her best. Meg was the motherly
friend of the young women, Jo the confidante and defender
of all the youths, and Amy the lady Bountiful who
delicately smoothed the way for needy students, and
entertained them all so cordially that it was no wonder
they named her lovely home Mount Parnassus, so full
was it of music, beauty, and the culture hungry young
hearts and fancies long for.
The original twelve boys had of course
scattered far and wide during these years, but all
that lived still remembered old Plumfield, and came
wandering back from the four quarters of the earth
to tell their various experiences, laugh over the
pleasures of the past, and face the duties of the
present with fresh courage; for such home-comings keep
hearts tender and hands helpful with the memories
of young and happy days. A few words will tell
the history of each, and then we can go on with the
new chapter of their lives.
Franz was with a merchant kinsman
in Hamburg, a man of twenty-six now, and doing well.
Emil was the jolliest tar that ever ’sailed the
ocean blue’. His uncle sent him on a long
voyage to disgust him with this adventurous life;
but he came home so delighted with it that it was
plain this was his profession, and the German kinsman
gave him a good chance in his ships; so the lad was
happy. Dan was a wanderer still; for after the
geological researches in South America he tried sheep-farming
in Australia, and was now in California looking up
mines. Nat was busy with music at the Conservatory,
preparing for a year or two in Germany to finish him
off. Tom was studying medicine and trying to like
it. Jack was in business with his father, bent
on getting rich. Dolly was in college with Stuffy
and Ned reading law. Poor little Dick was dead,
so was Billy; and no one could mourn for them, since
life would never be happy, afflicted as they were
in mind and body.
Rob and Teddy were called the ‘Lion
and the Lamb’; for the latter was as rampant
as the king of beasts, and the former as gentle as
any sheep that ever baaed. Mrs Jo called him
‘my daughter’, and found him the most
dutiful of children, with plenty of manliness underlying
the quiet manners and tender nature. But in Ted
she seemed to see all the faults, whims, aspirations,
and fun of her own youth in a new shape. With
his tawny locks always in wild confusion, his long
legs and arms, loud voice, and continual activity,
Ted was a prominent figure at Plumfield. He had
his moods of gloom, and fell into the Slough of Despond
about once a week, to be hoisted out by patient Rob
or his mother, who understood when to let him alone
and when to shake him up. He was her pride and
joy as well as torment, being a very bright lad for
his age, and so full of all sorts of budding talent,
that her maternal mind was much exercised as to what
this remarkable boy would become.
Demi had gone through College with
honour, and Mrs Meg had set her heart on his being
a minister picturing in her fond fancy the
first sermon her dignified young parson would preach,
as well as the long, useful, and honoured life he
was to lead. But John, as she called him now,
firmly declined the divinity school, saying he had
had enough of books, and needed to know more of men
and the world, and caused the dear woman much disappointment
by deciding to try a journalist’s career.
It was a blow; but she knew that young minds cannot
be driven, and that experience is the best teacher;
so she let him follow his own inclinations, still
hoping to see him in the pulpit. Aunt Jo raged
when she found that there was to be a reporter in
the family, and called him ‘Jenkins’ on
the spot. She liked his literary tendencies, but
had reason to detest official Paul Prys, as we shall
see later. Demi knew his own mind, however, and
tranquilly carried out his plans, unmoved by the tongues
of the anxious mammas or the jokes of his mates.
Uncle Teddy encouraged him, and painted a splendid
career, mentioning Dickens and other celebrities who
began as reporters and ended as famous novelists or
newspaper men.
The girls were all flourishing.
Daisy, as sweet and domestic as ever, was her mother’s
comfort and companion. Josie at fourteen was a
most original young person, full of pranks and peculiarities,
the latest of which was a passion for the stage, which
caused her quiet mother and sister much anxiety as
well as amusement. Bess had grown into a tall,
beautiful girl looking several years older than she
was, with the same graceful ways and dainty tastes
which the little Princess had, and a rich inheritance
of both the father’s and mother’s gifts,
fostered by every aid love and money could give.
But the pride of the community was naughty Nan; for,
like so many restless, wilful children, she was growing
into a woman full of the energy and promise that suddenly
blossoms when the ambitious seeker finds the work she
is fitted to do well. Nan began to study medicine
at sixteen, and at twenty was getting on bravely;
for now, thanks to other intelligent women, colleges
and hospitals were open to her. She had never
wavered in her purpose from the childish days when
she shocked Daisy in the old willow by saying:
’I don’t want any family to fuss over.
I shall have an office, with bottles and pestle things
in it, and drive round and cure folks.’
The future foretold by the little girl the young woman
was rapidly bringing to pass, and finding so much
happiness in it that nothing could win her from the
chosen work. Several worthy young gentlemen had
tried to make her change her mind and choose, as Daisy
did, ’a nice little house and family to take
care of’. But Nan only laughed, and routed
the lovers by proposing to look at the tongue which
spoke of adoration, or professionally felt the pulse
in the manly hand offered for her acceptance.
So all departed but one persistent youth, who was such
a devoted Traddles it was impossible to quench him.
This was Tom, who was as faithful
to his child sweetheart as she to her ‘pestle
things’, and gave a proof of fidelity that touched
her very much. He studied medicine for her sake
alone, having no taste for it, and a decided fancy
for a mercantile life. But Nan was firm, and
Tom stoutly kept on, devoutly hoping he might not kill
many of his fellow-beings when he came to practise.
They were excellent friends, however, and caused much
amusement to their comrades, by the vicissitudes of
this merry love-chase.
Both were approaching Plumfield on
the afternoon when Mrs Meg and Mrs Jo were talking
on the piazza. Not together; for Nan was walking
briskly along the pleasant road alone, thinking over
a case that interested her, and Tom was pegging on
behind to overtake her, as if by accident, when the
suburbs of the city were past a little way
of his, which was part of the joke.
Nan was a handsome girl, with a fresh
colour, clear eye, quick smile, and the self-poised
look young women with a purpose always have. She
was simply and sensibly dressed, walked easily, and
seemed full of vigour, with her broad shoulders well
back, arms swinging freely, and the elasticity of
youth and health in every motion. The few people
she met turned to look at her, as if it was a pleasant
sight to see a hearty, happy girl walking countryward
that lovely day; and the red-faced young man steaming
along behind, hat off and every tight curl wagging
with impatience, evidently agreed with them.
Presently a mild ‘Hallo!’
was borne upon the breeze, and pausing, with an effort
to look surprised that was an utter failure, Nan said
affably:
‘Oh, is that you, Tom?’
‘Looks like it. Thought
you might be walking out today’; and Tom’s
jovial face beamed with pleasure.
‘You knew it. How is your
throat?’ asked Nan in her professional tone,
which was always a quencher to undue raptures.
’Throat? Oh, ah! yes, I
remember. It is well. The effect of that
prescription was wonderful. I’ll never call
homoeopathy a humbug again.’
’You were the humbug this time,
and so were the unmedicated pellets I gave you.
If sugar or milk can cure diphtheria in this remarkable
manner, I’ll make a note of it. O Tom, Tom,
will you never be done playing tricks?’
‘O Nan, Nan, will you never
be done getting the better of me?’ And the merry
pair laughed at one another just as they did in the
old times, which always came back freshly when they
went to Plumfield.
’Well, I knew I shouldn’t
see you for a week if I didn’t scare up some
excuse for a call at the office. You are so desperately
busy all the time I never get a word,’ explained
Tom.
’You ought to be busy too, and
above such nonsense. Really, Tom, if you don’t
give your mind to your lectures, you’ll never
get on,’ said Nan soberly.
‘I have quite enough of them
as it is,’ answered Tom with an air of disgust.
’A fellow must lark a bit after dissecting corpuses
all day. I can’t stand it long at a time,
though some people seem to enjoy it immensely.’
’Then why not leave it, and
do what suits you better? I always thought it
a foolish thing, you know,’ said Nan, with a
trace of anxiety in the keen eyes that searched for
signs of illness in a face as ruddy as a Baldwin apple.
’You know why I chose it, and
why I shall stick to it if it kills me. I may
not look delicate, but I’ve a deep-seated heart
complaint, and it will carry me off sooner or later;
for only one doctor in the world can cure it, and
she won’t.’
There was an air of pensive resignation
about Tom that was both comic and pathetic; for he
was in earnest, and kept on giving hints of this sort,
without the least encouragement.
Nan frowned; but she was used to it,
and knew how to treat him.
’She is curing it in the best
and only way; but a more refractory patient never
lived. Did you go to that ball, as I directed?’
‘I did.’
‘And devote yourself to pretty Miss West?’
‘Danced with her the whole evening.’
‘No impression made on that susceptible organ
of yours?’
’Not the slightest. I gaped
in her face once, forgot to feed her, and gave a sigh
of relief when I handed her over to her mamma.’
’Repeat the dose as often as
possible, and note the symptoms. I predict that
you’ll “cry for it” by and by.’
‘Never! I’m sure it doesn’t
suit my constitution.’
‘We shall see. Obey orders!’ sternly.
‘Yes, Doctor,’ meekly.
Silence reigned for a moment; then,
as if the bone of contention was forgotten in the
pleasant recollections called up by familiar objects,
Nan said suddenly:
’What fun we used to have in
that wood! Do you remember how you tumbled out
of the big nut-tree and nearly broke your collar-bones?’
’Don’t I! and how you
steeped me in wormwood till I was a fine mahogany
colour, and Aunt Jo wailed over my spoilt jacket,’
laughed Tom, a boy again in a minute.
‘And how you set the house afire?’
‘And you ran off for your band-box?’
‘Do you ever say “Thunder-turtles”
now?’
‘Do people ever call you “Giddy-gaddy"?’
‘Daisy does. Dear thing, I haven’t
seen her for a week.’
’I saw Demi this morning, and
he said she was keeping house for Mother Bhaer.’
’She always does when Aunt Jo
gets into a vortex. Daisy is a model housekeeper;
and you couldn’t do better than make your bow
to her, if you can’t go to work and wait till
you are grown up before you begin lovering.’
’Nat would break his fiddle
over my head if I suggested such a thing. No,
thank you. Another name is engraved upon my heart
as indelibly as the blue anchor on my arm. “Hope”
is my motto, and “No surrender”, yours;
see who will hold out longest.’
’You silly boys think we must
pair off as we did when children; but we shall do
nothing of the kind. How well Parnassus looks
from here!’ said Nan, abruptly changing the
conversation again.
’It is a fine house; but I love
old Plum best. Wouldn’t Aunt March stare
if she could see the changes here?’ answered
Tom, as they both paused at the great gate to look
at the pleasant landscape before them.
A sudden whoop startled them, as a
long boy with a wild yellow head came leaping over
a hedge like a kangaroo, followed by a slender girl,
who stuck in the hawthorn, and sat there laughing
like a witch. A pretty little lass she was, with
curly dark hair, bright eyes, and a very expressive
face. Her hat was at her back, and her skirts
a good deal the worse for the brooks she had crossed,
the trees she had climbed, and the last leap, which
added several fine rents.
’Take me down, Nan, please.
Tom, hold Ted; he’s got my book, and I will
have it,’ called Josie from her perch, not at
all daunted by the appearance of her friends.
Tom promptly collared the thief, while
Nan picked Josie from among the thorns and set her
on her feet without a word of reproof; for having
been a romp in her own girlhood, she was very indulgent
to like tastes in others. ‘What’s
the matter, dear?’ she asked, pinning up the
longest rip, while Josie examined the scratches on
her hands. ’I was studying my part in the
willow, and Ted came slyly up and poked the book out
of my hands with his rod. It fell in the brook,
and before I could scrabble down he was off.
You wretch, give it back this moment or I’ll
box your ears,’ cried Josie, laughing and scolding
in the same breath.
Escaping from Tom, Ted struck a sentimental
attitude, and with tender glances at the wet, torn
young person before him, delivered Claude Melnotte’s
famous speech in a lackadaisical way that was irresistibly
funny, ending with ‘Dost like the picture, love?’
as he made an object of himself by tying his long
legs in a knot and distorting his face horribly.
The sound of applause from the piazza
put a stop to these antics, and the young folks went
up the avenue together very much in the old style
when Tom drove four in hand and Nan was the best horse
in the team. Rosy, breathless, and merry, they
greeted the ladies and sat down on the steps to rest,
Aunt Meg sewing up her daughter’s rags while
Mrs Jo smoothed the Lion’s mane, and rescued
the book. Daisy appeared in a moment to greet
her friend, and all began to talk.
’Muffins for tea; better stay
and eat ’em; Daisy’s never fail,’
said Ted hospitably.
‘He’s a judge; he ate
nine last time. That’s why he’s so
fat,’ added Josie, with a withering glance at
her cousin, who was as thin as a lath.
’I must go and see Lucy Dove.
She has a whitlow, and it’s time to lance it.
I’ll tea at college,’ answered Nan, feeling
in her pocket to be sure she had not forgotten her
case of instruments.
’Thanks, I’m going there
also. Tom Merryweather has granulated lids, and
I promised to touch them up for him. Save a doctor’s
fee and be good practice for me. I’m clumsy
with my thumbs,’ said Tom, bound to be near
his idol while he could.
’Hush! Daisy doesn’t
like to hear you saw-bones talk of your work.
Muffins suit us better’; and Ted grinned sweetly,
with a view to future favours in the eating line.
‘Any news of the Commodore?’ asked Tom.
’He is on his way home, and
Dan hopes to come soon. I long to see my boys
together, and have begged the wanderers to come to
Thanksgiving, if not before,’ answered Mrs Jo,
beaming at the thought.
’They’ll come, every man
of them, if they can. Even Jack will risk losing
a dollar for the sake of one of our jolly old dinners,’
laughed Tom.
’There’s the turkey fattening
for the feast. I never chase him now, but feed
him well; and he’s “swellin’ wisibly”,
bless his drumsticks!’ said Ted, pointing out
the doomed fowl proudly parading in a neighbouring
field.
’If Nat goes the last of the
month we shall want a farewell frolic for him.
I suppose the dear old Chirper will come home a second
Olé Bull,’ said Nan to her friend.
A pretty colour came into Daisy’s
cheek, and the folds of muslin on her breast rose
and fell with a quick breath; but she answered placidly:
’Uncle Laurie says he has real talent, and after
the training he will get abroad he can command a good
living here, though he may never be famous.’
’Young people seldom turn out
as one predicts, so it is of little use to expect
anything,’ said Mrs Meg with a sigh. ’If
our children are good and useful men and women, we
should be satisfied; yet it’s very natural to
wish them to be brilliant and successful.’
’They are like my chickens,
mighty uncertain. Now, that fine-looking cockerel
of mine is the stupidest one of the lot, and the ugly,
long-legged chap is the king of the yard, he’s
so smart; crows loud enough to wake the Seven Sleepers;
but the handsome one croaks, and is no end of a coward.
I get snubbed; but you wait till I grow up, and then
see’; and Ted looked so like his own long-legged
pet that everyone laughed at his modest prediction.
’I want to see Dan settled somewhere.
“A rolling stone gathers no moss”, and
at twenty-five he is still roaming about the world
without a tie to hold him, except this’; and
Mrs Meg nodded towards her sister.
’Dan will find his place at
last, and experience is his best teacher. He
is rough still, but each time he comes home I see a
change for the better, and never lose my faith in
him. He may never do anything great, or get rich;
but if the wild boy makes an honest man, I’m
satisfied,’ said Mrs Jo, who always defended
the black sheep of her flock.
’That’s right, mother,
stand by Dan! He’s worth a dozen Jacks and
Neds bragging about money and trying to be swells.
You see if he doesn’t do something to be proud
of and take the wind out of their sails,’ added
Ted, whose love for his ‘Danny’ was now
strengthened by a boy’s admiration for the bold,
adventurous man.
’Hope so, I’m sure.
He’s just the fellow to do rash things and come
to glory climbing the Matterhorn, taking
a “header” into Niagara, or finding a
big nugget. That’s his way of sowing wild
oats, and perhaps it’s better than ours,’
said Tom thoughtfully; for he had gained a good deal
of experience in that sort of agriculture since he
became a medical student.
‘Much better!’ said Mrs
Jo emphatically. ’I’d rather send
my boys off to see the world in that way than leave
them alone in a city full of temptations, with nothing
to do but waste time, money, and health, as so many
are left. Dan has to work his way, and that teaches
him courage, patience, and self-reliance. I don’t
worry about him as much as I do about George and Dolly
at college, no more fit than two babies to take care
of themselves.’
’How about John? He’s
knocking round town as a newspaper man, reporting
all sorts of things, from sermons to prize-fights,’
asked Tom, who thought that sort of life would be
much more to his own taste than medical lectures and
hospital wards.
’Demi has three safeguards good
principles, refined tastes, and a wise mother.
He won’t come to harm, and these experiences
will be useful to him when he begins to write, as
I’m sure he will in time,’ began Mrs Jo
in her prophetic tone; for she was anxious to have
some of her geese turn out swans.
‘Speak of Jenkins, and you’ll
hear the rustling of his paper,’ cried Tom,
as a fresh-faced, brown-eyed young man came up the
avenue, waving a newspaper over his head.
’Here’s your Evening Tattler!
Latest Edition! Awful murder! Bank clerk
absconded! Powder-mill explosion, and great strike
of the Latin School boys!’ roared Ted, going
to meet his cousin with the graceful gait of a young
giraffe.
’The Commodore is in, and will
cut his cable and run before the wind as soon as he
can get off,’ called Demi, with ’a nice
derangement of nautical epitaphs’, as he came
up smiling over his good news.
Everyone talked together for a moment,
and the paper passed from hand to hand that each eye
might rest on the pleasant fact that the Brenda, from
Hamburg, was safe in port.
’He’ll come lurching out
by tomorrow with his usual collection of marine monsters
and lively yarns. I saw him, jolly and tarry and
brown as a coffee-berry. Had a good run, and
hopes to be second mate, as the other chap is laid
up with a broken leg,’ added Demi.
‘Wish I had the setting of it,’
said Nan to herself, with a professional twist of
her hand.
‘How’s Franz?’ asked Mrs Jo.
’He’s going to be married!
There’s news for you. The first of the
flock, Aunty, so say good-bye to him. Her name
is Ludmilla Heldegard Blumenthal; good family, well-off,
pretty, and of course an angel. The dear old
boy wants Uncle’s consent, and then he will settle
down to be a happy and an honest burgher. Long
life to him!’
’I’m glad to hear it.
I do so like to settle my boys with a good wife and
a nice little home. Now, if all is right, I shall
feel as if Franz was off my mind,’ said Mrs
Jo, folding her hands contentedly; for she often felt
like a distracted hen with a large brood of mixed chickens
and ducks upon her hands.
‘So do I,’ sighed Tom,
with a sly glance at Nan. ’That’s
what a fellow needs to keep him steady; and it’s
the duty of nice girls to marry as soon as possible,
isn’t it, Demi?’
’If there are enough nice fellows
to go round. The female population exceeds the
male, you know, especially in New England; which accounts
for the high state of culture we are in, perhaps,’
answered John, who was leaning over his mother’s
chair, telling his day’s experiences in a whisper.
’It is a merciful provision,
my dears; for it takes three or four women to get
each man into, through, and out of the world.
You are costly creatures, boys; and it is well that
mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters love their
duty and do it so well, or you would perish off the
face of the earth,’ said Mrs Jo solemnly, as
she took up a basket filled with dilapidated hose;
for the good Professor was still hard on his socks,
and his sons resembled him in that respect.
’Such being the case, there
is plenty for the “superfluous women” to
do, in taking care of these helpless men and their
families. I see that more clearly every day,
and am very glad and grateful that my profession will
make me a useful, happy, and independent spinster.’
Nan’s emphasis on the last word
caused Tom to groan, and the rest to laugh.
’I take great pride and solid
satisfaction in you, Nan, and hope to see you very
successful; for we do need just such helpful women
in the world. I sometimes feel as if I’ve
missed my vocation and ought to have remained single;
but my duty seemed to point this way, and I don’t
regret it,’ said Mrs Jo, folding a large and
very ragged blue sock to her bosom.
‘Neither do I. What should I
ever have done without my dearest Mum?’ added
Ted, with a filial hug which caused both to disappear
behind the newspaper in which he had been mercifully
absorbed for a few minutes.
’My darling boy, if you would
wash your hands semi-occasionally, fond caresses would
be less disastrous to my collar. Never mind, my
precious touslehead, better grass stains and dirt
than no cuddlings at all’; and Mrs Jo emerged
from that brief eclipse looking much refreshed, though
her back hair was caught in Ted’s buttons and
her collar under one ear.
Here Josie, who had been studying
her part at the other end of the piazza, suddenly
burst forth with a smothered shriek, and gave Juliet’s
speech in the tomb so effectively that the boys applauded,
Daisy shivered, and Nan murmured: ’Too
much cerebral excitement for one of her age.’
’I’m afraid you’ll
have to make up your mind to it, Meg. That child
is a born actress. We never did anything so well,
not even the Witch’s Curse,’ said Mrs
Jo, casting a bouquet of many-coloured socks at the
feet of her flushed and panting niece, when she fell
gracefully upon the door-mat.
’It is a sort of judgement upon
me for my passion for the stage when a girl.
Now I know how dear Marmee felt when I begged to be
an actress. I never can consent, and yet I may
be obliged to give up my wishes, hopes, and plans
again.’
There was an accent of reproach in
his mother’s voice, which made Demi pick up
his sister with a gentle shake, and the stern command
to ’drop that nonsense in public’.
’Drop me, Minion, or I’ll
give you the Maniac Bride, with my best Ha-ha!’
cried Josie, glaring at him like an offended kitten.
Being set on her feet, she made a splendid courtesy,
and dramatically proclaiming, ‘Mrs Woffington’s
carriage waits,’ swept down the steps and round
the corner, trailing Daisy’s scarlet shawl majestically
behind her.
’Isn’t she great fun?
I couldn’t stop in this dull place if I hadn’t
that child to make it lively for me. If ever she
turns prim, I’m off; so mind how you nip her
in the bud,’ said Teddy, frowning at Demi, who
was now writing out shorthand notes on the steps.
’You two are a team, and it
takes a strong hand to drive you, but I rather like
it. Josie ought to have been my child, and Rob
yours, Meg. Then your house would have been all
peace and mine all Bedlam. Now I must go and
tell Laurie the news. Come with me, Meg, a little
stroll will do us good’; and sticking Ted’s
straw hat on her head, Mrs Jo walked off with her
sister, leaving Daisy to attend to the muffins, Ted
to appease Josie, and Tom and Nan to give their respective
patients a very bad quarter of an hour.