, and thus are more
exposed to jealousy of each other. It is true, that, owing to their
greater sensitiveness, keener subjection to the fastidious sway of
taste, women are more apt than men to fall out, being more easily
disturbed and estranged by trifles; but this relative subjection to
trifles is chiefly a consequence of the exclusion of woman hitherto
from the grandest fields of education, the noblest subjects of
interest and action. It is true, that the attachments of women, on
account of the greater privacy of their lives, are less conspicuous
than those of men, less frequently obtain historic or literary
mention, and therefore seem to be rarer. But it is not true, either
that women are incapable of enthusiastic and steadfast friendships
for each other, or that such friendships are uncommon. If women are
more critical and severe towards their own sex than men are, it is
chiefly because they cannot, like men, be indifferent to each other:
they must positively feel either sympathy or aversion.

It is very frequently the case, that a single woman, blessed with
wealth, invites some friend, to whom she is strongly attached, to
accept a home with her; and they live thenceforth in indissoluble
union. Such an instance among men is almost as rare as a white
blackbird. Unmarried sisters so often pass all their years together,
inseparably united, both inwardly and outwardly, that almost every
one of us is acquainted with many examples. But it is extremely rare
for bachelor brothers to club together, and pass a wholly shared
existence.

In the higher classes of society, it is a common custom for nobly-
born women to have lady companions, to whom they give a home and
support and constant love, for the sake of congenial intercourse with
them, for the comfort of their presence and conversation. There is
scarcely a corresponding custom among men. It has happened to the
writer to know numerous instances in which a wealthy woman has, in
her lifetime, freely bestowed on a poor friend, from a pure impulse
of good-will, a sum of money sufficient to secure her a handsome
independence. This substantial deed of friendship he has not known
paralleled in a single instance among men.

Men do not often go so far in either moral extreme as the other sex.
It is the corruption of the best that makes the worst. Who is this,
shameless mixture of beast and fiend, with body of fire, heart of
marble, brow of bronze, and hand hollowed to hold mone