Few snippets of Blanche Ebbutt

Marriage

Don't boast your husband's money or birth or cleverness to your friends. It is nearly as bad as boasting of your own.

Don't quarrel with your husband. Remember it takes two to make a quarrel; don't you be one of them. Lovers' quarrel may be all very well, but matrimonial doses are apt to leave a bitter flavour behind. The quarrels of spouses are not always the renewal of love.

Don't nag your husband. If he won't carry out your wishes for love of you, he certainly won't because you nag him.

Evenings at home
Don't omit the kiss of greeting. It cheers a man when he is tired to feel that his wife is glad to see him home.

Don't spend all your time with the children and leave none over for your husband. You can have them during the day; it is your husband's turn when he comes home in the evening.

Don't tell your husband of every petty annoyance and pin-prick you have suffered from during the day, but do tell him your real troubles; he expects to share them, and his advice may help you. In any case, his sympathy will halve the trouble.

Don't be shy of showing your love. Don't expect him to take it for granted. A playful caress as you pass the chair, an unexpected touch on the shoulder, makes all the difference betweeen merely knowing that you care for him and actually feeling it.

Dress
Don't get into the habit of dressing carelessly when there is 'only' your husband to see you. He is a man after all, and if his wife does not take the trouble to do so plenty of other women who will.

Children
Don't think your baby is as interesting to everyone else as she/he is to you. It is quite natural for you to think that there never was such a wonderful baby before, but other people are apt to smile at each other or become horribly bored if you can talk of nothing else.

How to avoid discord
Don't say, 'I told you so' , however much you feel tempted to. It does no good, and he will be grateful to you for NOT saying it.