"Do you think a girl needs to know a lot of stuff—stupid things in books?" she asked.
"Women must have a better education than they once did," Eleanor Kemp replied with conviction. She refrained from explaining that a girl like Milly, with no social background, might marry "to advantage" on her looks, but she would need something more to maintain any desirable position in the world. Such ideas were getting into the air these days.
"I'm going to take some music lessons," Milly yawned.
"You have a good mind," her friend persisted flatteringly. "Do you know French."
"A little," Milly admitted dubiously.
"German?"
Milly shook her head positively.
"Latin?"
"Latin! What for?"
"I had two years of Latin. It's ... it's cultivating."