ing
under her careful training, she had always a bouquet ready to place by
Emily's plate at breakfast-time.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE NURSE.

Mr. Graham's garden was very beautiful, abounding in rich shrubbery,
summer houses, and arbours covered with grape-vines; but a high, broad
fence hid it from public view, and the house, standing back from the
road, was old-fashioned in its appearance. The summer was passing most
happily, and Gertrude, in the enjoyment of Emily's society, and in the
consciousness that she was rendering herself useful and important to
this excellent friend, was finding in every day new causes of
contentment and rejoicing, when a stop was suddenly put to all her
pleasure.

Emily was taken ill with a fever, and Gertrude, on her entering the
sick-room, to share in its duties, was rudely repulsed by Mrs. Ellis,
who had constituted herself sole nurse, and who declared that the fever
was catching, and Miss Emily did not want her there.

For three or four days Gertrude wandered about the house, inconsolable.
On the fifth morning after her banishment from the room, she saw Mrs.
Prime, the cook, going upstairs with some gruel; and, giving her some
beautiful rose-buds which she had gathered, she begged her to give them
to Emily, and ask if she might not come in and see her. She lingered
about the kitchen awaiting Mrs. Prime's return, in hopes of some
message, at least, from the sufferer. But when the cook came down the
flowers were still in her hand, and as she threw them on the table, the
kind-hearted woman gave vent to her feelings.

"Well! folks do say that first-rate cooks and nurses are allers as cross
as bears! 'Tan't for me to say whether it's so 'bout cooks, but 'bout
nurses there an't no sort o'doubt! I would not want to go there, Miss
Gertrude; I'm sure she'd bit your head off."

"Wouldn't Miss Emily take the flowers?" asked Gertrude, looking quite
grieved.

"Well, she hadn't no word in the matter. You know she couldn't see what
they were; and Mrs. Ellis flung 'em outside the door, vowin' I might as
well bring pison into the room with a fever as roses. I tried to speak
to Miss Emily, but Mrs. Ellis set up such a hush-sh-sh I s'posed she was
goin' to sleep, and jest made the best o' my way out. Ugh! don't she
begin to scold when there's anybody taken sick!"

Gertrude sauntered out into the garden. She had nothing to do but think
anxiously about Emily, who, she feared, was very ill. Her