It was the first of the divisions which marked her long vigil; the hours succeeded each other quickly; between voice and voice there seemed to pass but a single wave of surging thought.

But each new warning of coming day found her nearer the calm of resolve.
Look at this girl, and try to know her.

Emily knew but one article of religion, and that bade her preserve, if need be, at the cost of life, the purity of her soul.

This was the supreme law of her being.

The pieties of kindred were as strong in her as in any heart that ever beat, but respect for them Could not constrain her to a course which opposed that higher injunction.