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Everybody's Lonesome - A True Fairy Story by Clara E. Laughlin
page 39 of 61 (63%)

Mary Alice made no reply; there seemed to be nothing that she could say
But after they had sat silent for a long while, she got up and kissed
her godmother with a new passion which had in it tenderness as well as
adoration.

"I don't believe I can be brave and lovely about it, as you must have
been to make people love you so. But I'm going to _try_," she said.

The success with which Mary Alice's trying met was really beautiful to
see. At first, it was pretty hard for her to care much about the
Secret, or about people. Every assemblage just seemed to her an empty
crowd where he was not. But when she began to wonder to how many of
those selfsame people the others seemed the same as to her, she was
interested once more; the Secret began to work.

It worked so well, in fact, that Mary Alice came to be quite famous in
a small way. People in Godmother's distinguished and delightful "set"
talked enthusiastically of Mary Alice's quiet charm, and she was asked
here and asked there, and had a quite wonderful time.

Her "poor" friend came in, whenever he could, for tea and toast; and
sometimes he made what he called "a miserable return" for this
hospitality, by asking Godmother and Mary Alice to dine with him at his
palace on upper Fifth Avenue and afterwards to sit in his box at the
opera. He was a widower, and his two sons were married and lived in
palaces of their own. His only daughter was abroad finishing her
education; and his great, lonely house was to serve a brief purpose for
her when she "came out" and until she married. Then, he thought, he
would either give it up or turn it over to her; certainly he would not
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