of the present day, when they go for a summer vacation, take their
sisters with them. The act gives them their first true knowledge of the
responsibilities attaching to the care of a woman--to the gravity of
married life. It being cheaper, as a rule, for man and wife to travel
together than for brother and sister, the brother has an idea of future
expense awaiting him (after he shall have married) which is on the right
side of an estimate--that is, the surplus side. The sister's mind is
broadened by this kindness and self-sacrifice of the brother. She has a
higher opinion of manhood, and her choice will fall all the higher up.
What makes our finest girls often go through the forest of maidenhood
rejecting the most promising staffs of support, and, finally, nearing
the plains of spinsterhood, pick up in a panic