In 1894, Ruth Smythers, 'Beloved wife of The Reverend L. D. Smythers', wrote: 'One cardinal rule of marriage should never be forgotten: give little, give seldom and, above all, give grudgingly...'

The Methodist wife didn't intend to be amusing, but this brief treatise written for young brides is side-splitting today and an eye-opener to how our love lives have changed in just over a century.