Person_. I know one person who is a perfect tower of strength, she is full
of common sense: if you give her a commission she is sure to get the right
thing and to do it reasonably; she knows exactly what she paid, and she
tells you! If she undertakes to do a thing it is certain to be done in
good time; she does not wait till the very day the thing is wanted and
then find that it cannot be got.

Now, _you_ often let yourselves do a stupid thing, or a forgetful thing,
and then say, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" and feel as if you had wiped it out. Not
at all! You have lost one chance of growing into a reliable woman. In all
your life you will only have a certain limited number of chances, and
should use every one you have--to be reliable is worth all the genius in
the world for comfort to others, and _you can each win this crown_ if you
care to do so.

One other person I would choose if I were fated to have sisters, would be
the one who purrs when she is pleased. It takes all the colour and air out
of life when people gaze impassively at beautiful things, or hear lovely
things and never seem to have taken them in; or meet kindness and look as
if it was not there. You do not need to gush, but _do_ purr!

And thirdly I want a magnanimous nature;--one that takes slights and
neglects in a large-minded way, and does not believe people meant them
and, if they _did_, does not fret: one who is serene when little things go
wrong, and does not fuss or worry: one who accepts generously as well as
gives generously, and who is keenly alive to people's good points and good
intentions. Little petty motives and small spites and jealousy die away
in the light of a nature like that. It keeps the family atmosphere sweet
and wholesome.