perfected in the very practice of it. But you [...]

You will see something more astonishing and stranger than this. For when your husband sees your care for his food, he understands that you care for him personally. Preparing everything properly, with precision, elegance, and speed, he will count a favor he is bound to repay. Moreover, if you surprise him now and then with the dishes, fruits, or sweets in which he takes a particular delight, you will loose his tongue in praise, and he will shower you with an appreciation and admiration you could not obtain to enjoy by any other path of artfulness and invention.

3 – Beware of moods: If some anxiety or care shows upon your husband, leave him be; the cause may be a matter essential to his life and his position in society, or he may be considering a change in the manner of living, or a move from one country to another.

4 – Go along with your husband: If you see your husband despairing, do not forget that pleasantry clears despair away. Just as you hope that he will consider your feelings in everything, take care not to leave his feelings out of account. If you enter into affairs he regards as his own, proceed with deliberation and gravity, and refrain from disparaging what matters to him.

5 – Keep your attractiveness after marriage: Your power to hold his heart entirely is your capital, which yields the greatest returns. Therefore maintain the appearances that delight his eyes and captivate his mind. Never neglect your toilette. And beware of

dropping all ceremony between the two of you. Strive to keep up your care for yourself, your health, and your charm, so that you may remain the bride of his soul.

6 – Broaden your mental horizons: How like the mind is to flint, which gives no spark unless it is struck! And there are forms of striking out knowl-edge that are indispensable: among them the com-pany of literary women and of sober people of experi-ence, and the reading of useful books. It must be said that keeping pace with the age is a binding necessity; it well becomes you to read the weekly or monthly magazine that concerns itself with the sciences, arts, and letters and brings you the latest in the world of thought and invention. Even the daily newspapers are not without some benefit in the reading.

7 – Let your going out of the house be a happy occasion: Do not leave your home unless you know the reason for your going out and appreciate the abundant benefits you gain from closing your door behind you and going into society—whether on an outing, or a formal call, or attendance at a literary or social gathering. This opportunity should bring you back a renewal of spirit and benefits of character that add to the brilliance of your personality and the enlightenment of your knowledge. And it is well to hold festive occasions in your home, to which you invite the people dearest to you both; you will pass hours of pleasure to be remembered for days to come, and you will be kept safe from the feeling of loneliness and of household preoccupation.