"Deliver me from people who make it their business in life always to act
cheerful no matter _what._ The Scripture itself says 'There's a time
to laugh and a time to weep, a time to mourn and a time to dance.' When
the weeping time comes I can't abide either people or books that go
around spreading cheerful sayings on everybody like salve!"

Tippy, lying there with her hair screwed into a tight little button on
the top of her head, looked strangely unlike herself. Georgina descended
to the kitchen, much offended. It hurt her feelings to have her good
offices spurned in such a way. She didn't care how bad anybody's
rheumatism was she muttured. "It was no excuse for saying such nasty
things to people who were trying to be kind to them."

Belle suggested presently that the customary piano practice be omitted
that morning for fear it might disturb Aunt Maria, so when the usual
little tasks were done Georgina would have found time dragging, had it
not been for the night letter which a messenger boy brought soon after
breakfast. Grandfather Shirley was better than she had expected to find
him, Barby wired. Particulars would follow soon in a letter. It cheered
Georgina up so much that she took a pencil and tablet of paper up into
the willow tree and wrote a long account to her mother of the birthday
happenings. What with the red-candled cake and the picture show and the
afternoon in the boat it sounded as if she had had a very happy day. But
mostly she wrote about the prism, and what Uncle Darcy had told her about
the magic glass of Hope. When it was done she went in to Belle.

"May I go down to the post-office to mail this and stop on my way back at
the Green Stairs and see if Richard can come and play with me?" she
asked.