While Nat takes a good long sleep, I will tell my little readerssomething about the boys, among whom he found himself when hewoke up.

To begin with our old friends. Franz was a tall lad, of sixteen now,a regular German, big, blond, and bookish, also very domestic,amiable, and musical. His uncle was fitting him for college, andhis aunt for a happy home of his own hereafter, because shecarefully fostered in him gentle manners, love of children, respectfor women, old and young, and helpful ways about the house. Hewas her right-hand man on all occasions, steady, kind, and patient;and he loved his merry aunt like a mother, for such she had tried tobe to him.

Emil was quite different, being quick-tempered, restless, andenterprising, bent on going to sea, for the blood of the old vikingsstirred in his veins, and could not be tamed. His uncle promisedthat he should go when he was sixteen, and set him to studyingnavigation, gave him stories of good and famous admirals andheroes to read, and let him lead the life of a frog in river, pond,and brook, when lessons were done. His room looked like thecabin of a man-of-war, for every thing was nautical, military, andshipshape. Captain Kyd was his delight, and his favoriteamusement was to rig up like that piratical gentleman, and roar outsanguinary sea-songs at the top of his voice. He would dancenothing but sailors' hornpipes, rolled in his gait, and was asnautical in conversation to his uncle would permit. The boys calledhim "Commodore," and took great pride in his fleet, whichwhitened the pond and suffered disasters that would have dauntedany commander but a sea-struck boy.

Demi was one of the children who show plainly the effect ofintelligent love and care, for soul and body worked harmoniouslytogether. The natural refinement which nothing but homeinfluence can teach, gave him sweet and simple manners: hismother had cherished an innocent and loving heart in him; hisfather had watched over the physical growth of his boy, and keptthe little body straight and strong on wholesome food and exerciseand sleep, while Grandpa March cultivated the little mind with thetender wisdom of a modern Pythagoras, not tasking it with long,hard lessons, parrot-learned, but helping it to unfold as naturallyand beautifully as sun and dew help roses bloom. He was not aperfect child, by any means, but his faults were of the better sort;and being early taught the secret of self-control, he was not left atthe mercy of appetites and passions, as some poor little mortalsare, and then punished for yielding to the temptations againstwhich they have no armor. A quiet, quaint boy was Demi, serious,yet cheery, quite unconscious that he was unusually bright andbeautiful, yet quick to see and love intelligence or beauty in otherchildren. Very fond of books, and full of lively fancies, born of astrong imagination and a spiritual nature, these traits made hisparents anxious to balance them with useful knowledge andhealthful society, lest they should make him one of those paleprecocious children who amaze and delight a family sometimes,and fade away like hot-house flowers, because the young soulblooms too soon, and has not a hearty body to root it firmly in thewholesome soil of this world.

So Demi was transplanted to Plumfield, and took so kindly to thelife there, that Meg and John and Grandpa felt satisfied that theyhad done well. Mixing with other boys brought out the practicalside of him, roused his spirit, and brushed away the pretty cobwebshe was so fond of spinning in that little brain of his. To be sure, herather shocked his mother when he came home, by banging doors,saying "by George" emphatically, and demanding tall thick boots"that clumped like papa's." But John rejoiced over him, laughed athis explosive remarks, got the boots, and said contentedly,

"He is doing well; so let him clump. I want my son to be a manlyboy, and this temporary roughness won't hurt him. We can polishhim up by and by; and as for learning, he will pick that up aspigeons do peas. So don't hurry him."

Daisy was as sunshiny and charming as ever, with all sorts ofwomanlinesses budding in her, for she was like her gentle mother,and delighted in domestic things. She had a family of dolls, whomshe brought up in the most exemplary manner; she could not geton without her little work-basket and bits of sewing, which she didso nicely, that Demi frequently pulled out his handkerchief displayher neat stitches, and Baby Josy had a flannel petticoat beautifullymade by Sister Daisy. She like to quiddle about the china-closet,prepare the salt-cellars, put the spoons straight on the table; andevery day went round the parlor with her brush, dusting chairs andtables. Demi called her a "Betty," but was very glad to have herkeep his things in order, lend him her nimble fingers in all sorts ofwork, and help him with his lessons, for they kept abreast there,and had no thought of rivalry.

The love between them was as strong as ever; and no one couldlaugh Demi out of his affectionate ways with Daisy. He fought herbattles valiantly, and never could understand why boys should beashamed to say "right out," that they loved their sisters. Daisyadored her twin, thought "my brother" the most remarkable boy inthe world, and every morning, in her little wrapper, trotted to tap athis door with a motherly "Get up, my dear, it's 'most breakfasttime; and here's your clean collar."

Rob was an energetic morsel of a boy, who seemed to havediscovered the secret of perpetual motion, for he never was still.Fortunately, he was not mischievous, nor very brave; so he keptout of trouble pretty well, and vibrated between father and motherlike an affectionate little pendulum with a lively tick, for Rob wasa chatterbox.

Teddy was too young to play a very important part in the affairs ofPlumfield, yet he had his little sphere, and filled it beautifully.Every one felt the need of a pet at times, and Baby was alwaysready to accommodate, for kissing and cuddling suited himexcellently. Mrs. Jo seldom stirred without him; so he had his littlefinger in all the domestic pies, and every one found them all thebetter for it, for they believed in babies at Plumfield.

Dick Brown, and Adolphus or Dolly Pettingill, were two eightyear-olds. Dolly stuttered badly, but was gradually getting over it,for no one was allowed to mock him and Mr. Bhaer tried to cure it,by making him talk slowly. Dolly was a good little lad, quiteuninteresting and ordinary, but he flourished here, and wentthrough his daily duties and pleasures with placid content andpropriety.

Dick Brown's affliction was a crooked back, yet he bore his burdenso cheerfully, that Demi once asked in his queer way, "Do humpsmake people good-natured? I'd like one if they do." Dick wasalways merry, and did his best to be like other boys, for a pluckyspirit lived in the feeble little body. When he first came, he wasvery sensitive about his misfortune, but soon learned to forget it,for no one dared remind him of it, after Mr. Bhaer had punishedone boy for laughing at him.

"God don't care; for my soul is straight if my back isn't," sobbedDick to his tormentor on that occasion; and, by cherishing thisidea, the Bhaers soon led him to believe that people also loved hissoul, and did not mind his body, except to pity and help him tobear it.

Playing menagerie once with the others, some one said,

"What animal will you be, Dick?"

"Oh, I'm the dromedary; don't you see the hump on my back?" wasthe laughing answer.

"So you are, my nice little one that don't carry loads, but marchesby the elephant first in the procession," said Demi, who wasarranging the spectacle.

"I hope others will be as kind to the poor dear as my boys havelearned to be," said Mrs. Jo, quite satisfied with the success of herteaching, as Dick ambled past her, looking like a very happy, but avery feeble little dromedary, beside stout Stuffy, who did theelephant with ponderous propriety.

Jack Ford was a sharp, rather a sly lad, who was sent to this school,because it was cheap. Many men would have thought him a smartboy, but Mr. Bhaer did not like his way of illustrating that Yankeeword, and thought his unboyish keenness and money-loving asmuch of an affliction as Dolly's stutter, or Dick's hump.

Ned Barker was like a thousand other boys of fourteen, all legs,blunder, and bluster. Indeed the family called him the"Blunderbuss," and always expected to see him tumble over thechairs, bump against the tables, and knock down any small articlesnear him. He bragged a good deal about what he could do, butseldom did any thing to prove it, was not brave, and a little givento tale-telling. He was apt to bully the small boys, and flatter thebig ones, and without being at all bad, was just the sort of fellowwho could very easily be led astray.

George Cole had been spoilt by an over-indulgent mother, whostuffed him with sweetmeats till he was sick, and then thought himtoo delicate to study, so that at twelve years old, he was a pale,puffy boy, dull, fretful, and lazy. A friend persuaded her to sendhim to Plumfield, and there he soon got waked up, for sweet thingswere seldom allowed, much exercise required, and study made sopleasant, that Stuffy was gently lured along, till he quite amazedhis anxious mamma by his improvement, and convinced her thatthere was really something remarkable in Plumfield air.

Billy Ward was what the Scotch tenderly call an "innocent," forthough thirteen years old, he was like a child of six. He had beenan unusually intelligent boy, and his father had hurried him on toofast, giving him all sorts of hard lessons, keeping at his books sixhours a day, and expecting him to absorb knowledge as a Strasburggoose does the food crammed down its throat. He thought he wasdoing his duty, but he nearly killed the boy, for a fever gave thepoor child a sad holiday, and when he recovered, the overtaskedbrain gave out, and Billy's mind was like a slate over which asponge has passed, leaving it blank.

It was a terrible lesson to his ambitious father; he could not bearthe sight of his promising child, changed to a feeble idiot, and hesent him away to Plumfield, scarcely hoping that he could behelped, but sure that he would be kindly treated. Quite docile andharmless was Billy, and it was pitiful to see how hard he tried tolearn, as if groping dimly after the lost knowledge which had costhim so much.

Day after day, he pored over the alphabet, proudly said A and B,and thought that he knew them, but on the morrow they were gone,and all the work was to be done over again. Mr. Bhaer had infinitepatience with him, and kept on in spite of the apparenthopelessness of the task, not caring for book lessons, but tryinggently to clear away the mists from the darkened mind, and give itback intelligence enough to make the boy less a burden and anaffliction.

Mrs. Bhaer strengthened his health by every aid she could invent,and the boys all pitied and were kind to him. He did not like theiractive plays, but would sit for hours watching the doves, would digholes for Teddy till even that ardent grubber was satisfied, orfollow Silas, the man, from place to place seeing him work, forhonest Si was very good to him, and though he forgot his lettersBilly remembered friendly faces.

Tommy Bangs was the scapegrace of the school, and the mosttrying scapegrace that ever lived. As full of mischief as a monkey,yet so good-hearted that one could not help forgiving his tricks; soscatter-brained that words went by him like the wind, yet sopenitent for every misdeed, that it was impossible to keep soberwhen he vowed tremendous vows of reformation, or proposed allsorts of queer punishments to be inflicted upon himself. Mr. andMrs. Bhaer lived in a state of preparation for any mishap, from thebreaking of Tommy's own neck, to the blowing up of the entirefamily with gunpowder; and Nursey had a particular drawer inwhich she kept bandages, plasters, and salves for his especial use,for Tommy was always being brought in half dead; but nothingever killed him, and he arose from every downfall with redoubledvigor.

The first day he came, he chopped the top off one finger in thehay-cutter, and during the week, fell from the shed roof, waschased by an angry hen who tried to pick his out because heexamined her chickens, got run away with, and had his ears boxedviolent by Asia, who caught him luxuriously skimming a pan ofcream with half a stolen pie. Undaunted, however, by any failuresor rebuffs, this indomitable youth went on amusing himself withall sorts of tricks till no one felt safe. If he did not know hislessons, he always had some droll excuse to offer, and as he wasusually clever at his books, and as bright as a button in composinganswers when he did not know them, he go on pretty well atschool. But out of school, Ye gods and little fishes! how Tommydid carouse!

He wound fat Asia up in her own clothes line against the post, andleft here there to fume and scold for half an hour one busy Mondaymorning. He dropped a hot cent down Mary Ann's back as thatpretty maid was waiting at table one day when there weregentlemen to dinner, whereat the poor girl upset the soup andrushed out of the room in dismay, leaving the family to think thatshe had gone mad. He fixed a pail of water up in a tree, with a bitof ribbon fastened to the handle, and when Daisy, attracted by thegay streamer, tried to pull it down, she got a douche bath thatspoiled her clean frock and hurt her little feelings very much. Heput rough white pebbles in the sugar-bowl when his grandmothercame to tea, and the poor old lady wondered why they didn't meltin her cup, but was too polite to say anything. He passed aroundsnuff in church so that five of the boys sneezed with such violencethey had to go out. He dug paths in winter time, and then privatelywatered them so that people should tumble down. He drove poorSilas nearly wild by hanging his big boots in conspicuous places,for his feet were enormous, and he was very much ashamed ofthem. He persuaded confiding little Dolly to tie a thread to one ofhis loose teeth, and leave the string hanging from his mouth whenhe went to sleep, so that Tommy could pull it out without hisfeeling the dreaded operation. But the tooth wouldn't come at thefirst tweak, and poor Dolly woke up in great anguish of spirit, andlost all faith in Tommy from that day forth.

The last prank had been to give the hens bread soaked in rum,which made them tipsy and scandalized all the other fowls, for therespectable old biddies went staggering about, pecking andclucking in the most maudlin manner, while the family wereconvulsed with laughter at their antics, till Daisy took pity on themand shut them up in the hen-house to sleep off their intoxication.

These were the boys and they lived together as happy as twelvelads could, studying and playing, working and squabbling, fightingfaults and cultivating virtues in the good old-fashioned way. Boysat other schools probably learned more from books, but less of thatbetter wisdom which makes good men. Latin, Greek, andmathematics were all very well, but in Professor Bhaer's opinion,self knowledge, self-help, and self-control were more important,and he tried to teach them carefully. People shook their headssometimes at his ideas, even while they owned that the boysimproved wonderfully in manners and morals. But then, as Mrs. Josaid to Nat, "it was an odd school."