conquered;
she had achieved the greatest of earth's victories, a victory over
herself. The brilliant rainbow, the carol of the bird, the fragrance of
the blossoms, all the bright things that gladdened the earth after the
storm, were not half so beautiful as the light that overspread the face
of the young girl when, the storm within her laid at rest, she looked up
to heaven and her heart sent forth its silent offering of praise.

The sound of the tea-bell startled her. She bathed her face and brushed
her hair, and went downstairs. There was no one in the dining-room but
Mrs. Ellis; Mr. Graham had been detained in town, and Emily was
suffering severe headache. Gertrude took tea alone with Mrs. Ellis, who,
unaware of the great value Gertrude attached to her old relics, was
conscious she had done an unkind thing.

Next day Mrs. Prime, the cook, came to Emily's room, and produced the
little basket, made of a nut, saying, "I wonder now, Miss Emily, where
Miss Gertrude is; for I've found her little basket in the coal-hole, and
I guess she'll be right glad on't--'tan't hurt a mite." Emily inquired,
"What basket?" and the cook, placing it in her hands, gave an account of
the destruction of Gertrude's property, which she had herself witnessed
with indignation. She described the distress of Gertrude when
questioning Bridget, which the sympathising cook had heard from her
chamber.

As Emily listened to the story, she thought the previous afternoon she
heard Gertrude sobbing in her room, but that she concluded that she
mistook. "Go," said she, "and carry the basket to Gertrude; she is in
the little library; but please, Mrs. Prime, don't tell her that you have
mentioned the matter to me." Emily expected for several days, to hear
from Gertrude the story of her injuries; but Gertrude kept her trouble
to herself.

This was the first instance of complete self-control to Gerty. From this
time she experienced more and more the power of governing herself; and,
with each new effort gaining new strength, became at last a wonder to
those who knew the temperament she had had to contend with. She was now
nearly fourteen years old, and so rapid had been her recent growth that,
instead of being below the usual stature, she was taller than most girls
of her age. Freedom from study, and plenty of air and exercise,
prevented her, however, from suffering from this circumstance. Her
garden was a source of great pleasure to her, and flowers prosper