A Woman of the World | Page 5

first youth passes, you must cultivate mental and
spiritual traits which will give your face a lustre from within.
And as the mirth and fun of life drifts farther from you, and you find

the merry jest, which of old turned care into laughter, less ready on
your lip, you must cultivate a wholesome optimistic view of life, to
sustain your husband through the trials and disasters besetting most
mortal paths.
Make one solemn resolve now, and never forget it. Say to yourself, "On
no other spot, in no other house on earth, shall my husband find a more
cheerful face, a more loving welcome, or a more restful atmosphere,
than he finds at home."
No matter what vicissitudes arise, and what complications occur, keep
that resolve. It will at least help to sustain you with a sense of
self-respect, if unhappiness from any outside source should shadow
your life. An attractive home has become a sort of platitude in speech,
but it remains a thing of vital importance, all the same, in actual life
and in marriage.
Think often and speak frequently to your husband of his good qualities
and of the things you most admire in him.
Sincere and judicious praise is to noble nature like spring rain and sun
to the earth. Ignore or make light of his small failings, and when you
must criticize a serious fault, do not dwell upon it. A husband and wife
should endeavour to be such good friends that kindly criticism is
accepted as an evidence of mutual love which desires the highest
attainments for its object.
But no man likes to think his wife has set about the task of making him
over, and if you have any such intention I beg you to conceal it, and go
about it slowly and with caution.
A woman who knows how to praise more readily than she knows how
to criticize, and who has the tact and skill to adapt herself to a man's
moods and to find amusement and entertainment in his whims, can lead
him away from their indulgence without his knowledge.
Such women are the real reformers of men, though they scorn the word,
and disclaim the effort.

It is well to keep a man conscious that you are a refined and
delicate-minded woman, yet do not insist upon being worshipped on a
pedestal. It tires a man's neck to be for ever gazing upward, and statues
are less agreeable companions than human beings.
If you wish to be thought spotless marble, instead of warm flesh and
blood, you should have gone into a museum, and refused marriage.
Remember God knew what He was about, when He fashioned woman
to be man's companion, mate, and mother of his children.
Respect yourself in all those capacities, and regard the fulfilment of
each duty as sacred and beautiful.
Do not thrust upon the man's mind continually the idea that you are a
vastly higher order of being than he is.
He will reach your standard much sooner if you come half-way and
meet him on the plane of common sense and human understanding.
Meantime let him never doubt your abhorrence of vulgarity, and your
distaste for the familiarity which breeds contempt.
It is a great art, when a wife knows how to attract a husband year after
year, with the allurements of the boudoir, and never to disillusion him
with the familiarities of the dressing-room.
Such women there are, who have lived with their lovers in poverty's
close quarters, and through sickness and trouble, and yet have never
brushed the bloom from the fruit of romance. But she who needs to be
told in what this art consists, would never understand, and she who
understands, need not be told.
Keep your husband certain of the fact that his attention and society is
more agreeable to you than that of any other man. But never beg for his
attentions, and do not permit him to think you are incapable of enjoying
yourself without his playing the devoted cavalier.
The moment a man feels such an attitude is compulsory, it becomes
irksome. Learn how to entertain yourself. Cling to your

accomplishments and add others. A man admires a progressive woman
who keeps step with the age. Study, and think, and read, and cultivate
the art of listening. This will make you interesting to men and women
alike, and your husband will hear you praised as an agreeable and
charming woman, and that always pleases a man, as it indicates his
good taste and good luck.
Avoid giving your husband the impression that you expect a detailed
account of every moment spent away from you. Convince him that you
believe in his honour and loyalty, and that you have no desire to control
or influence his actions