Monsieur, Madame, and Bebe -- C

ease; he stretches himself with too great listlessness in armchairs too well cushioned. He assumes the unconstrained habits of dressing-gown and slippers; his digestion

ut not at all-but how can it be, Father Z.?

of my opinion. Yes, your poor heart has suffered very often; there are nights duri

s day, then thirty years of autumn, to me, who am

e got into the habit of walking on the tips of your toes so as not to disturb the household, and your husband, in the midst of this refreshing half-sleep, has begun to yawn luxuriously; then he ha

lacking to you, and your husband takes up his hat and stick at the very sight of your handwriting; he firmly believes that

look upon you, my dear sisters, as poor victims, and if

you will admit! If, therefore, one of your friends complains of the freedom that reigns in this little book, let her talk on and be sure befo

society of courtesans where love is an article of commerce, where kisses are paid for in advance. Regard the relation of these coarse pleasures as immodest and revolting, be indignant, scold your brethren-I will admit that you a

ppiness, to be found outside the society of those young women-such is our object; and since we are about to describe it, we venture

"Beware of the sacred ties of marriage;" "Do not jest with the sacred duties of a husband;" "Meditate on the sacred obligation of a father of a family;"

, hang it! there is something else in married life, something that renders these duties delightful, else this sacred position and these ties would soon be nothing more than insupportable burdens. O

tism. Being weary and-how shall I put it?-men of the world, they choose to represent marriage as an asylum, of which you are to be the angels. No doubt to be an angel is very nice, but, believe me, it is either too much

angelic quietude and the studied austerity of your principles a

oup and to refuse one's self a glass of claret; to look for virtuous wives to be highly respectable and somewhat wearisome beings; dressing neatly, but having had neither poetry, youth, gayety, nor vague desires; ignorant of everything, un

pretty state of things

e-and-twenty years of age, in the right in being afraid of it!

, wait a bit; I am n

ndid match, and the yo

ould not make her happy. I am n

be put away in the apple-loft! What happiness! a good husband, who the day after his marriage will piously place his wife in a niche and

ing a little further. It is all very well that you should be treated like saints, but do n

stache pricks you, but think that it is all because at heart he loves you well. He worships your virtues; is it surprising hence that he should cherish their outward coverings? No doubt you have a noble soul; but your body is not therefore to be despised; and when one loves fervently, one loves everything at the same time. Do not be alarmed if in the evening, when the fire is burning brightly and you are chat

laughing, joyous side; if in your husband you find the loved reader of the pretty romance you have in your pocket; if, while wearing cashmere shawls and

ady said, but that is no great matter. Remember that under the pretext of education you have been stuffed, my dear sisters. You have been varnished too soon, like those pictures painted for sales, which crack all over six months after purchase. Your di

as indispensable; and at the first station your husband, who is not an angel, loses his temper amidst all these encumbrances, sends it all to the devil under some pretext or other, lets you go on alone, and gets into another carriage. I do not require, mark me, that you s

art of the husband to purify, strip, and restore to its real shape. In other words, it takes ten years to make a bride and six years at least to turn t

o long as one experiences pleasure and happiness in his company. Laws, decrees, oaths, may prevent faithlessness, or at

if love is absent from marriage it should, on the contrary, be its real pivot? To make one's self l

ctions. Suppress, by all means, in this partnership, gravity and affectation, yet add a sprinkling of gallantry and good-fellowship. Preserve even in your intimacy

ht after. Think of those precious jewels that are arranged with such art in their satin-lined jewel-case; never forget the case. Let your nest be soft, let your presence be felt in all its thousand trifles. Put a little of yourself into the or

imitate the women whom he may have known, nor their head-dresses or toilettes; that would tend to make him believe he has not changed his manner of life. You have in yourself another kind of grace, another wit, another coquetry, and above all that rejuvenescence of heart and mind which those women have never had. You have an eagerness in life, a need of expansion, a freshness of impression which are-though perhaps you m

e adroitness; do not throw yourself at his h

before the registrar. But let me tell you, sisters, he is still rich. He has another pocket of which he knows nothing, the fool! and which

im whom you love that which these women do for all the world; do not content yourselves with being virtuous-be attractive, perfume your hair, nurture illusion as a rare plant in a golden vase. Cultivate a little folly when practicable; put away your marriage-contract and look at it only onc

ies, the little dears, and kiss our wives. Yes, that is moral and healthy; the world is not a shive

trive to be real; that is