the
brothers, _i. e._ the sons settled in the group and who now rule. We
are asked to believe that they do this to relieve themselves of the
maintenance of their widowed sisters, and to prevent their being
captured and carried off to other groups. According to Mr. Atkinson
the presence of these outside lovers would not be dangerous to the
family peace. They would come from neighbouring groups, from which
the young men had already captured their wives. In this way the strangers
would be the brothers of their women; and thus the brother-and-sister
avoidance--the primal law already established--would prevent any fear of
interference with the established marital rights on the part of the
new-comers. I strongly differ from the suggestion that the brothers
had to feed and maintain their widowed sisters; such an opinion is but
another example of a failure to appreciate the women's side of the
question. I allow willingly that the sisters may have had the
assistance of their brothers; I incline, indeed, to the opinion that
they would be strong enough to compel their help, though probably this
was not necessary. The group-sisters and the group-brothers may well
have united against the father, who was the enemy of both. To me the
common-sense view is that these visits from outside suitors were first
paid clandestinely at night. In the light of human nature it is at
least probable that the tyrant father was deceived by his daughters
and his sons. If already he was dead, what reason was there for any
fear--why were the visits secret? This seems to show that I am right;
that once more the initiative in the changes that led to regulation
must be traced back to women. Afterwards, the custom thus established,
would come to be recognised, and the practice of the husband visiting
his wife by night would persist long after the danger making such
secrecy necessary had ceased.

It will be readily seen that the introduction of young husbands from
outside, by whatever means this was done, would be an immense gain in
strength. Again a new regulation in the sexual relationships would
follow, and the group-daughters would now have husbands of their own
generation, sacred to them. Furthermore it was the first direct step
in friendly union between group and group; a step that would open up
ways to further progress. The husband, living in his own group, and
visiting his wife in hers, would at once form a connecting link
between two hitherto separa