Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/119

Rh but be their tenderest friend, and then you may become their ablest adviser. If separated from them by the course of school and college education, make a point of keeping up your intimacy by full, free, and affectionate correspondence; and when they return to the paternal roof, at that awkward age between youth and manhood, when reserve creeps over the mind like an impenetrable veil, suffer it not to interpose between you and your brothers. Cultivate their friendship and intimacy with all the address and tenderness you possess; for it is of unspeakable importance to them that their sisters should be their confidential friends. Consider the loss of a ball or party, for the sake of making the evening pass pleasantly to your brothers at home, as a small sacrifice—one you should unhesitatingly make. If they go into company with you, see that they are introduced to the most desirable acquaintances, and show them that you are interested in their acquitting themselves well.”

Having quoted so much from the “Young Lady’s Friend,” we feel inclined to give a few passages more from the author’s admirable remarks on the relation of brother and sister.

“So many temptations beset young men, of which young women know nothing, that it is of the utmost importance that your brothers’