“Never mind what she says.  I’m the wretch that did it, sir,” said the new member, with a Welleresque nod to Mr. Pickwick.  “But on my honor, I never will do so again, and henceforth devote myself to the interest of this immortal club.”

“Hear!  Hear!” cried Jo, clashing the lid of the warming pan like a cymbal.

“Go on, go on!” added Winkle and Tupman, while the President bowed benignly.

“I merely wish to say, that as a slight token of my gratitude for the honor done me, and as a means of promoting friendly relations between adjoining nations, I have set up a post office in the hedge in the lower corner of the garden, a fine, spacious building with padlocks on the doors and every convenience for the mails, also the females, if I may be allowed the expression.  It’s the old martin house, but I’ve stopped up the door and made the roof open, so it will hold all sorts of things, and save our valuable time.  Letters, manuscripts, books, and bundles can be passed in there, and as each nation has a key, it will be uncommonly nice, I fancy.  Allow me to present the club key, and with many thanks for your favor, take my seat.”

Great applause as Mr. Weller deposited a little key on the table and subsided, the warming pan clashed and waved wildly, and it was some time before order could be restored.  A long discussion followed, and everyone came out surprising, for everyone did her best.  So it was an unusually lively meeting, and did not adjourn till a late hour, when it broke up with three shrill cheers for the new member.

No one ever regretted the admittance of Sam Weller, for a more devoted, well-behaved, and jovial member no club could have.  He certainly did add ‘spirit’ to the meetings, and ‘a tone’ to the paper, for his orations convulsed his hearers and his contributions were excellent, being patriotic, classical, comical, or dramatic, but never sentimental.  Jo regarded them as worthy of Bacon, Milton, or Shakespeare, and remodeled her own works with good effect, she thought.

The P. O. was a capital little institution, and flourished wonderfully, for nearly as many queer things passed through it as through the real post office.  Tragedies and cravats, poetry and pickles, garden seeds and long letters, music and gingerbread, rubbers, invitations, scoldings, and puppies.  The old gentleman liked the fun, and amused himself by sending odd bundles, mysterious messages, and funny telegrams, and his gardener, who was smitten with Hannah’s charms, actually sent a love letter to Jo’s care.  How they laughed when the secret came out, never dreaming how many love letters that little post office would hold in the years to come.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EXPERIMENTS

“The first of June!  The Kings are off to the seashore tomorrow, and I’m free.  Three months’ vacation—­how I shall enjoy it!” exclaimed Meg, coming home one warm day to find Jo laid upon the sofa in an unusual state of exhaustion, while Beth took off her dusty boots, and Amy made lemonade for the refreshment of the whole party.