then,
without laying her hands upon him, she had said, "You are a man, a
prince, the son of a King. You are strong to bear, brave to do.
Obstacles surmounted give broader outlooks. Burdens bravely borne
bring strength. I believe in you;" and then, with a strong, firm--I
had almost said manly--grasp of the hand, she had sent him away, he
would go feeling stronger, braver, more self-reliant, stimulated,
encouraged, not merely soothed and quieted. In this fashion a girl may
treat a young man as a brother. She may tell him his faults in all
kindness. She may listen to his dreams, ambitions, aspirations, and
encourage with approval, incite by gentle sarcasm, or enliven by
kindly sportiveness; but her person is her own, and he should be made
to feel that beyond these bounds he may not pass. Such friendship may
endure vicissitude, or separation, and be through life a source of
truest inspiration. To be such a friend to a noble man is a worthy
ambition. It would prove the possession of more qualities of
womanliness than merely to win his passionate love.

When the world comes to accept the highest ideals of life and believes
that all relations of men and women are not of necessity founded on
physical attraction, then will such friendships be more possible, and
the earth can offer no more desirable future than that in which men
and women, knowing each other as immortal intelligences, shall leave
the vale of unsafe sentimentality and sensuous poison to dwell on
heights of noble companionship.

CHAPTER XXII.

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN GIRLS.

You think, perhaps, that I can find no fault with the friendship of
girls with each other, that that certainly is safe and pleasant. I
have said enough for you to understand that I believe in reserve even
in girl friendships. Girls are apt at certain periods of their lives
to be rather gushing creatures. They form most sentimental attachments
for each other. They go about with their arms around each other, they
loll against each other, and sit with clasped hands by the hour. They
fondle and kiss until beholders are fairly nauseated, and in a few
weeks, perhaps, they do not speak as they pass each other, and their
caresses are lavished on others. Such friendships are not only silly,
they are even dangerous. They are a weakening of moral fiber, a waste
of mawkish sentimentality. They may be even worse. Such friendship may
degenerate even into a species of self-abuse that is most deplorab