The noble sister of Publicola,
The moon of Rome; chaste as the icicle,
That's curdled by the frost from purest snow,
And hangs on Dian's temple.
But good my brother,
Do not as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whilst like a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.--Shakspeare.
There has always been a charm for me in the speech of the
haughty _Coriolanus_ concerning _Valeria_, the sister of _Publicola_.
There is such a noble alliance of the brother and the sister. The one is
a man in high regard; therefore his sister likewise takes on those
correlative qualities which make her the moon of Rome, the Goddess
Diana, as it were. The young man of good quality will begin his life
with an exalted appreciation of his sister. He will give her that
tender regard and assistance which is her gentle due, and she, in turn,
will form her ideas of young men by the character of her brother, and,
in choosing a man upon whom to settle her womanly affections, will be
largely guided by her estimate of her brother's manhood. The young man
can not over-estimate the importance of his influence in this
connection. Depend upon it, if he be high-minded, courteous, attentive,
self-sacrificing at the proper times,