"Nobody, except myself, is ever going to make me happy," she would repeat over and over again when the day was wearying and the work heavy.

"I want to be happy.

I have a right to be happy, but it depends on myself." This indestructible belief in her "right to happiness" supported her through the hardest hours of her life, and diffused an invigorating atmosphere not only in her home, but even in her long working hours at Dinard's.

The children grew and strengthened in its bracing air; Miss Polly quickly responded to it; the women in the workroom breathed it in as if it were the secret of health, and even Madame showed occasional signs that she was not entirely impervious to its vital and joyous influence.

It was not always easy for Gabriella to keep the light in her eyes and the faith in her heart.