But it looks, in the report, as though there were never the whole fourteen there, and as though 1-2/5 of a girl stayed away every night, when the facts are we did not have a single absence, and the whole fourteen were there every night, except the night there was no school; and I have been told they all had on their things to come that night, but their mothers would not let them,—­those that had mothers,—­and they would have been blown away if they had come.

It seems to me the report does not present the case right, on account of the averages.

I think it is indeed the common things that trouble one to decide about, as I have said, since for the remarkable ones one can have advice.  The way we do on such occasions is to ask our friends, especially the lady from Philadelphia.

Whatever we should have done without her, I am sure I cannot tell, for her advice is always inestimable.  To be sure, she is not always here; but there is the daily mail (twice from here to Boston), and the telegraph, and to some places the telephone.

But for some common things there is not time for even the telephone.

* * * * *

Yesterday morning, for instance, going into Boston in the early train, I took the right side for a seat, as is natural, though I noticed that most of the passengers were crowding into the seats on the other side.  I found, as we left the station, that I was on the sunny side, which was very uncomfortable.  So I made up my mind to change sides, coming out.  But, unexpectedly, I stayed in till afternoon at Mrs. Easterly’s.  It seems she had sent a note to ask me (which I found at night all right, when I got home), as Mr. Easterly was away.  So I did not go out till afternoon.  I did remember my determination to change sides in going out, and as I took the right going in, not to take the right going out.  But then I remembered, as it was afternoon, the sun would have changed; so if the right side was wrong in the morning, it would be right in the afternoon.  At any rate, it would be safe to take the other side.  I did observe that most of the people took the opposite side, the left side; but I supposed they had not stopped to calculate.

When we came out of the station and from under the bridges, I found I was sitting in the sun again, the same way as in the morning, in spite of all my reasoning.  Ann Maria, who had come late and taken the last seat on the other side, turned round and called across to me, “Why do you always take the sunny side?  Do you prefer it?” I was sorry not to explain it to her, but she was too far off.

It might be safe to do what most of the other people do, when you cannot stop to inquire; but you cannot always tell, since very likely they may be mistaken.  And then if they have taken all the seats, there is not room left for you.  Still, this time, in coming out, I had reached the train in plenty of season, and might have picked out my seat, but then there was nobody there to show where most of the people would go.  I might have changed when I saw where most would go; but I hate changing, and the best seats were all taken.