Perhaps their first doubt arises with regard to the wear and tear of camp life upon those most directly responsible for its conduct.  “For years we even refused to consider it,” said the senior partner, “although urged by friends and would-be patrons, because we realized the unwisdom of working the year around and living continuously with school girls—­but the inevitable happened.  Our income did not keep pace with our expenses, and it was start a camp or do something less agreeable.  Just at the psychological moment one of our insistent friends found the right spot, we concluded negotiations, and, behold, we are camp proprietors, not altogether sure, in our most uncompromisingly frank moments, that we have done the best thing.”

That a girls’ camp is a far more difficult proposition than one for boys is evident on the face of it.  Mother may shed tears over parting with Johnny, but, after all, he’s a boy, and sooner or later must depend upon himself.  But Sister Sue is another matter.  Can she trust any one else to watch over her in the matter of flannels and dry stockings?  Do these well-meaning but spinster teachers know the symptoms of tonsilitis, the first signs of a bilious attack, or the peculiarities of a spoiled girl’s diet?  And will not Sue lose, possibly, some of the gentle manners and dainty ways inculcated at home, by close contact with divers other ways and manners?  She is inclined to be skeptical, is mother.  “And so,” acknowledged the senior partner, “the first summer we were deluged by visits long and short from anxious ladies who could not believe on hearsay evidence that we knew how to care for their delicate daughters.  They not only came, but they stayed, and as the nearest hotel was distant many devious miles of mountain road, we were forced to put them up; finally the maids had to sleep in the old barn, and we were camping on cots in the hall of the farmhouse which is our headquarters.  Naturally we had to be polite, for we were under the necessity of making a good impression that first year, but it was most distracting, for while they stayed they were unconsciously but selfishly demanding a little more than a fair share of time and attention for their daughters.”

And, indeed, all this maternal anxiety is not entirely misplaced.  Sue is a good deal harder to take care of than Johnny.  She needs a few more comforts, although camp life aims at eliminating all but the essentials of simple living.  Her clothes, even at a minimum, are more elaborate, which increases the difficulty of laundering, always a problem in camping.  She is infinitely more dependent upon her elders for direction in the veriest A B C’s of daily existence.  “Even the matter of tying a hair-ribbon or cleaning a pair of white canvas shoes is a mountain to a good many of my girls,” said the successful camp counsellor.