A spirited but hot-tempered young girl named Ida receives a cherished pair of new shoes from her father, which immediately sets off a chain of events revealing her central flaw: a volatile, uncontrollable temper that erupts without warning and subsides just as suddenly, leaving those around her exhausted and dismayed. Her mother, frequently bedridden with nervous headaches partly brought on by the stress of managing Ida's outbursts, her gentle Aunt Mary, and her patient father all struggle to find an effective method of correction. Whipping, isolation, and coaxing have each been tried without lasting success. Ida can be extraordinarily loving and tender one moment, then screaming, kicking, and scratching the next, bewildering those who witness the transformation. Her mother gradually discovers that praying openly with and for Ida, rather than punishing her alone, produces a more genuine and lasting effect on the child's conscience. When Ida strikes her mother during a painful hair-combing session, when she screams for an orange her brother no longer has, and when she rips a flower from a visitor's bonnet, each incident is met with a combination of firm removal from the situation and quiet spiritual instruction. Over time, Ida begins to internalize a sense of shame connected not merely to the displeasure of her family but to the idea that God witnesses her conduct and is grieved by it. One significant turning point comes when Ida stops herself mid-tantrum upon seeing her mother quietly weeping, then voluntarily kneels and asks forgiveness. Her mother responds with warm praise and a small celebration, reinforcing that conquering her temper is something to be proud of and cherished. The family undertakes a visit to Grandmother Kent, who lives with a married daughter, Mrs. Mason. There, Ida encounters her young cousin Joseph, a boy whose temper is described as even worse than her own ever was. Joseph strikes Ida in the face upon arrival, is routinely ungovernable, and is managed by his father through angry physical punishment that mirrors and inflames the very behavior it attempts to suppress. Witnessing Joseph's rages from the outside gives Ida an uncomfortable mirror of her own past self, and she is visibly shamed by the reflection. During the visit, Joseph attacks Ida violently enough to tear the skin beneath her eye, an injury serious enough to require a physician. The incident sends Joseph into a dangerous fit, and he subsequently develops brain fever, falling gravely ill. The family returns home, with Ida requiring medical care and grandmother accompanying them for an extended stay. The injury heals slowly in a darkened room, but during this quiet, confined period Ida deepens her reflective habit. She dictates a tender, earnest letter to the still-ailing Joseph, apologizing for her own small part in their quarrel, sharing her own ongoing struggle to improve, and encouraging him with the assurance that God helps children who sincerely try to do right. Joseph's illness proves transformative for his parents as well. His father, who had scoffed at the idea of prayer as a tool for governing children, writes to confess that he has wept bitterly at his son's bedside, recognizing that his own lack of self-control had modeled the very behavior that now threatened his son's life and sanity. Both parents commit to beginning life anew with prayer and deliberate self-governance. As Joseph recovers, he writes back to Ida through his father's hand, reporting that he is genuinely trying to control himself, that his father rewards each successful act of self-conquest with a work, and that the household now gathers for daily prayer. He invites Ida's forgiveness and expresses hope that they will be true friends on a future visit. The story closes with Ida continuing to make gradual, imperfect but real progress. She still occasionally slips, but each lapse is followed by genuine remorse and renewed effort. The central moral presented is that self-conquest, practiced repeatedly with sincere desire and divine help, becomes progressively easier, and that parents who model calm and prayerful self-governance are more effective than those who respond to a child's rage with rage of their own.
By Madeline Leslie · First published 1869 · Genre: Children's Literature, Domestic Fiction, Moral/Ethical Literature · 8 chapters