t of friends have come together through community of interests,
and this is a type of friendship for which men have a greater gift than
women.
There is still another type which develops because of some conspicuously
noble or fine quality which proves attractive. Hero worship, this, which
enlarges one's self through the admiration given to another. Then there
is the friendship based on a purely personal attraction, with mutual
respect and self-respect as its dedicated corner-stone. This does not
mean that one cannot see any faults in the friend, or know that one's
own are seen, without losing affection. There is always something flimsy
and insecure about a friendship that simply idealizes. Any relation
should be all the stronger for a frank acknowledgment of its
imperfections. If a girl cares enough she will be willing to admit her
own faults and wish to make herself more worthy to be a friend.
And, finally, there is what might be called the lend-a-hand
friendship,--the relation that springs into existence because of the
need which is seen in another. It is not fair to make a packhorse of
one's friend or to turn one's self into the leaning variety of plant,
but it is fair and wise and right, if one is strong enough to accomplish
the end in view, to lend a hand to another girl who is not making the
best of herself.
Have a good time but do not swear eternal allegiance in this first year
to anybody, however wonderful she may seem. Hold yourself in reserve, if
for no other reason, then on account of the old friends at home, whether
they be kin or no-kin, for they have been true. And remember, as I have
said before, friendship is like scholarship and must by its nature come
slowly.
IV
THE STUDENT'S ROOM
There has been a general improvement in student rooms, yet many rooms
to-day have altogether too much in them: too many pictures, too many
banners, too much furniture, too many hangings. The great fault of most
rooms is this overcrowding. If we were only heroic enough to make a
bonfire of nine-tenths of all they contain we should see suddenly
revealed possibilities for something like the ideal room.
One serious and obvious objection to the overcrowding of rooms is the
hygienic. I am tempted to say that this is the most important objection:
indeed, since health is more important than wealth, I will say so. A
girl has neither the time nor the ability to keep so many articles in a
room clean: and while she
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