"Why, I think," said Nan, looking at her husband with an adorable smile,
which seemed to assume that he would agree with her, "that a college
education is advisable, even necessary, for a girl who expects to teach,
or indeed, to follow any profession. But I'm quite sure we don't look
forward to that for Patty."

"No," said Mr. Fairfield; "I can't seem to see Patty teaching a district
school how to shoot; neither does my imagination picture her as a woman
doctor or a lady lawyer. But to my mind there are occasions in the life
of a private citizeness when a knowledge of classic lore is not only
beneficial but decidedly ornamental."

"Now, papa," began Patty, "I'm not going to spend my life as a butterfly
of fashion or a grasshopper of giddiness, and you know it; but all the
same, I can't think of a single occasion where I should be embarrassed
at my ignorance of Sanscrit, or distressed at the fact that I was
unacquainted personally with the statutes of limitation."

"You're talking nonsense, Patty, and you know it. The straight truth is,
that you don't like school life and school restraint. Now some girls
enjoy the fun and pleasures of college life, and think that they more
than compensate for the drudgery of actual study."

"'An exile from home, pleasure dazzles in vain,'" sang Patty, whose
spirits had risen, for she felt intuitively that her father was about to
give up his cherished plans.

"I think," went on Nan, "after you have asked for my valuable advice,
you might let me give it without so many interruptions. I will proceed
to remark that I am still of the opinion that there are only two reasons