Chapter IX: Book II: SPECULATIVE.--Instrumentalities. Mind. Genesis

Metamorphoses.

"This book of practical and speculative essays invites us to the
sunshine, the delightful atmosphere, 'the cool retreats,' and the
quiet of the country."--_Cincinnati Chronicle._

"Like 'Walden,' it will be bought and read, year by year, by the
select few for whom it was written."--_Hartford Courant._

"This book addresses us in a tone of remarkable serenity and repose,
strangely contrasting with the lively bustle of the age and land we
live in."--_New York Times._

"The moral qualities of Mr. Alcott have probably more to do with
the secret of his influence than his peculiar mental endowments.
Every page of his writings evinces a singularly pure and unworldly
character. They appear more like leaves torn from some fragrant
antique volume, than the products of this competitive, rapacious age.
They transport us to some peaceful island beyond the reach of the
ambitions and rivalries of the day. He lives in a serene atmosphere,
free from all secular perturbations. No earthly stain discolors the
spotless whiteness of his soul. It is no wonder that he is listened
to in speechless reverence by an esoteric circle, and that his words
are clothed with an authority beyond the power of gaudy rhetoric or
purely intellectual demonstration."--_New York Tribune._

1 vol. 16mo. Cloth, gilt top, $1.50; with photographic title and portrait, $2.00; same, gilt edges, $2.50.

_Sold everywhere. Mailed, postpaid, by the Publishers,_

ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON.

"MAKE THEIR ACQUAINTANCE; FOR AMY WILL BE FOUND DELIGHTFUL, BETH VERY LOVELY, MEG BEAUTIFUL, AND JO SPLENDID!"--_The Catholic World._

LITTLE WOMEN. By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. In Two Parts. Price of each $1.50.

"Simply one of the most charming little books that have fallen
into our hands for many a day. There is just enough of sadness in
it to make it true to life, while it is so full of honest work and
whole-souled fun, paints so lively a picture of a home in which
contentment, energy, high spirits, and real goodness make up for the
lack of money, that it will do good wherever it finds its way. Few
will read it without lasting profit."--_Hartford Courant._

"LITTLE WOMEN. By Louisa M. Alcott. We regard these volumes as two
of the most fascinating that ever came into a household. Old and
young read them with the same eagerness. Lifelike in all their
delineations of time, place, and character, they are not only
intensely interesting, but full of a cheerful morality, that makes
them healthy reading for both fireside and the Sunday school. We
think we love "Jo" a little better than all the rest, her genius is
so happy tempered with affection."--_The Guiding Star._

The following verbatim copy of a letter from a "little woman" is a
specimen of many which enthusiasm for her book has dictated to the
author of "Little Women:"--

----March 12, 1870.

DEAR JO, OR MISS ALCOTT,--We have all been reading "Little Women,"
and we liked it so much I could not help wanting to write to you. We
think _you_ are perfectly splendid; I like you better every time I
read it. We were all so disappointed about your not marrying Laurie;
I cried over that part,--I could not help it. We all liked Laurie
ever so much, and almost killed ourselves laughing over the funny
things you and he said.

We are six sisters and two brothers; and there were so many things in
"Little Women" that seemed so natural, especially selling the rags.

Eddie is the oldest; then there is Annie (our Meg), then Nelly
(that's me), May and Milly (our Beths), Rosie, Rollie, and dear
little Carrie (the baby). Eddie goes away to school, and when he
comes home for the holidays we have lots of fun, playing cricket,
croquet, base ball, and every thing. If you ever want to play any
of those games, just come to our house, and you will find plenty
children to play with you.

If you ever come to ----, I do wish you would come and see us,--we
would like it so much.

I have named my doll after you, and I hope she will try and deserve
it.

I do wish you would send me a picture of you. I hope your health is
better, and you are having a nice time.

If you write to me, please direct ---- Ill. All the children send
their love.

With ever so much love, from your affectionate friend,

NELLY.

_Mailed to any address, postpaid, on receipt of the advertised price._

ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, _Boston_

AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL. BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. With Illustrations. Price $1.50.

"Miss Alcott has a faculty of entering into the lives and feelings of
children that is conspicuously wanting in most writers who address
them; and to this cause, to the consciousness among her readers that
they are hearing about people like themselves, instead of abstract
qualities labelled with names, the popularity of her books is due.
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are friends in every nursery and schoolroom,
and even in the parlor and office they are not unknown; for a good
story is interesting to older folks as well, and Miss Alcott carries
on her children to manhood and womanhood, and leaves them only on the
wedding-day."--_Mrs. Sarah J. Hale in Godey's Ladies' Book._

"We are glad to see that Miss Alcott is becoming naturalized among
us as a writer, and cannot help congratulating ourselves on having
done something to bring about the result. The author of 'Little
Women' is so manifestly on the side of all that is 'lovely, pure, and
of good report' in the life of women, and writes with such genuine
power and humor, and with such a tender charity and sympathy, that
we hail her books with no common pleasure. 'An Old-Fashioned Girl'
is a protest from the other side of the Atlantic against the manners
of the creature which we know on this by the name of 'the Girl of
the Period;' but the attack is delivered with delicacy as well as
force."--_The London Spectator._

"A charming little book, brimful of the good qualities of intellect
and heart which made 'Little Women' so successful. The 'Old-Fashioned
Girl' carries with it a teaching specially needed at the present
day, and we are glad to know it is even already a decided and great
success."--_New York Independent._

"Miss Alcott's new story deserves quite as great a success as her
famous "Little Women," and we dare say will secure it. She has
written a book which child and parent alike ought to read, for it
is neither above the comprehension of the one, nor below the taste
of the other. Her boys and girls are so fresh, hearty, and natural,
the incidents of her story are so true to life, and the tone is so
thoroughly healthy, that a chapter of the 'Old-Fashioned Girl' wakes
up the unartificial better life within us almost as effectually as an
hour spent in the company of good, honest, sprightly children. The
Old-Fashioned Girl, Polly Milton, is a delightful creature!"--_New
York Tribune._

"Gladly we welcome the 'Old-Fashioned Girl' to heart and home!
Joyfully we herald her progress over the land! Hopefully we look
forward to the time when our young people, following her example,
will also be old-fashioned in purity of heart and simplicity
of life, thus brightening like a sunbeam the atmosphere around
them."--_Providence Journal._

_Mailed, postpaid, on receipt of the advertised price, by the Publishers_,

ROBERTS BROTHERS,
_Boston_

"MISS ALCOTT IS REALLY A BENEFACTOR OF HOUSEHOLDS."--_H. H._

LITTLE MEN: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys. By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. With Illustrations. Price $1.50.

"The gods are to be congratulated upon the success of the Alcott
experiment, as well as all childhood, young and old, upon the
singular charm of the little men and little women who have run
forth from the Alcott cottage, children of a maiden whose genius is
beautiful motherhood."--_The Examiner._

"No true-hearted boy or girl can read this book without deriving
benefit from the perusal; nor, for that matter, will it the least
injure children of a larger growth to endeavor to profit by the
examples of gentleness and honesty set before them in its pages. What
a delightful school 'Jo' did keep! Why, it makes us want to live
our childhood's days over again, in the hope that we might induce
some kind-hearted female to establish just such a school, and might
prevail upon our parents to send us, 'because it was cheap.'... We
wish the genial authoress a long life in which to enjoy the fruits of
her labor, and cordially thank her, in the name of our young people,
for her efforts in their behalf."--_Waterbury American._

"Miss Alcott, whose name has already become a household word among
little people, will gain a new hold upon their love and admiration by
this little book. It forms a fitting sequel to 'Little Women,' and
contains the same elements of popularity.... We expect to see it even
more popular than its predecessor, and shall heartily rejoice at the
success of an author whose works afford so much hearty and innocent
enjoyment to the family circle, and teach such pleasant and wholesome
lessons to old and young."--_N. Y. Times._

"Suggestive, truthful, amusing, and racy, in a certain simplicity of
style which very few are capable of producing. It is the history of
only six months' school-life of a dozen boys, but is full of variety
and vitality, and the having girls with the boys is a charming
novelty, too. To be very candid, this book is so thoroughly good that
we hope Miss Alcott will give us another in the same genial vein, for
she understands children and their ways."--_Phil. Press._

A specimen letter from a little woman to the author of "Little Men."

June 17, 1871.

DEAR MISS ALCOTT,--We have just finished "Little Men," and like it
so much that we thought we would write and ask you to write another
book sequel to "Little Men," and have more about Laurie and Amy,
as we like them the best. We are the Literary Club, and we got the
idea from "Little Women." We have a paper two sheets of foolscap
and a half. There are four of us, two cousins and my sister and
myself. Our assumed names are: Horace Greeley, President; Susan B.
Anthony, Editor; Harriet B. Stowe, Vice-President; and myself, Anna
C. Ritchie, Secretary. We call our paper the "Saturday Night," and we
all write stories and have reports of sermons and of our meetings,
and write about the queens of England. We did not know but you would
like to hear this, as the idea sprang from your book; and we thought
we would write, as we liked your book so much. And now, if it is not
too much to ask of you, I wish you would answer this, as we are very
impatient to know if you will write another book; and please answer
soon, as Miss Anthony is going away, and she wishes very much to hear
from you before she does. If you write, please direct to ---- Street,
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Yours truly,
ALICE ----.

_Mailed to any address, postpaid, on receipt of the advertised price, by the Publishers_,

ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON

Transcriber's Note
-Italic text displayed as _text_.
-Silently changed mismatched single/double quotes.
-The typesetter varied usage of "'T is" and "'Tis". I have changed all
occurrences to the latter.
-The typesetter indicated elliptical breaks between paragraphs and
stanzas with a row of dots. I have indicated these with a row of five
mid-line dots.
-Change the ligature [oe] to "oe".
-Page 192: For the paragraph starting "One's foes...", I moved the
final quote to the end of the paragraph. I found this quoted in two
other sources: "An Oracle of our Day," _The Century: A Popular
Quarterly,_ Vol. 5, 1873, p. 517, and Franklin Benjamin Sandborn and
William Torrey Harris, _A. Bronson Alcott: His Life and Philosophy_,
Vol. 2, 1893, p. 411.
-Spelling and word usage retained as they appear in the original
publication, except as follows:

PAGE FROM TO
v Crashaws's Ideal Woman Crashaw's Ideal Woman
67 winters' prime winter's prime
136 he is an antedote he is an antidote
144 metaphysical renasissance metaphysical renaissance
153 system and termology system and terminology
163 commending absoluteism commending absolutism
164 conspire in the fulfiment conspire in the fulfilment
184 indigo, vermillion indigo, vermilion
190 she becomes petulent she becomes petulant
203 returning to consciousnsss returning to consciousness
238 revelations and arcanas revelations and arcana