TTE 1 University of California Berkeley From the papers of ALBERT RANDOLPH VALLIERE THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. THE TOILETTE HEALTH, BEAUTY, AND FASHION; EMBRACING THE ECONOMY OF THE BEARD BREATH COMPLEXION EARS EYES EYE-BROWS EYE-LASHES FEET FOREHEAD GUMS HAIR HEAD HANDS LIPS MOUTH MUSTAOHIOS NAILS OF THE TOES NAILS OF THE FINGERS NOSE SKIN TEETH TONGUE, &c. &c. INCLUDING Cije Comfort^ of AND THE DECORATIONS OF THE NECK; ALSO, THE TREATMENT OF THE DISCOLORATIONS OF THE SKIN, C ORNS ERUPTIONS SPOTS PI MPLE S , SCORBUTIC OR SPONGY GUMS, TAINTED BREATH TOOTH-ACHE-CARIOUS, OR DECAYED TEETH WARTS WHITLOWS, PREVENTION OF BALDNESS, GREY HAIR, ETC. DIRECTIONS FOR THE USE OF MOST SAFE AND SALUTARY COSMETICS PERFUMES-ESSENCES-SIMPLE WATERS-DKP1LATORIES, AND OTHER PREPARATIONS TO REMOVE SUPERFLUOUS HAIR, TAN, EXCRESCENSES, ETC. . AND A VARIETY OF ELECT RECIPES FOR THE DRESSING ROOM OF BOTH SEXES. LONDON: WITTENOOM AND CREMER, CORNH1LL. 1832. LONDON : MANNING AND SMITHSON, PRINTERS, LONDON HOUSE YARD, ST. PAUL'S. CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction xiii CHAPTER I. Cleanliness -1 Use of Baths 2 CHAPTER II. Toilette of the Hair - 3 Head-dresses of the Ancients Ancient Britons Jewish and Grecian Women Roman Ladies, &c. 4 Head-dress of a Trojan - - - ~| the Athenians ----[ 5 10 Israelites - - - J Ladies' Hair in the Reign of Charles II. - - 11 A Man of Fashion in 1652 12 Hair at the end of reign Charles I. - - - 13 Periwig, when introduced - - - - - 14 Bequest of a large Black Wig - - - ib. Patches, some Account of - - - ib. CHAPTER III. Forehead and its Decorations ... - 15 Observations on the French Curls as now worn - 17 Opinions of Lavater and Winkelman - - - 18 Criticisms on the Hair as worn at the present Day - 19 Milliners and Painters ------ ib. Heads, Complexions, Statues, Shapes, Busts, Re- marks on - 20 Imitations in Hair-dress 21 Monstruous Head-dresses, Bonnets, &c. 22 CHAPTER IV. PAGE Formation and Structure of the Hair - - 22 Analysis of the Hair ...... 23 Chevalier's Remarks on ditto ----- 24 Vegetation of the Hair, &c 26 CHAPTER V. Causes of Grey Hair 28 Baldness -____. ib. Dr. Darwin's Opinion, &c. ----- 29 CHAPTER VI. Attentions necessary to the Preservation of the Hair 32 Scurf, cautious Removal of - - - - ib. Health of the Head, &c. ib. CHAPTER VII. Hair Ointments -------35 Powders _______ ib. Washes, &c. to preserve, &c. - - - ib. Recipes, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - - - - 40 To make the Hair grow, and prevent its falling - 41 Recipes, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - - - - 42 CHAPTER VIII. Directions for Staining the Hair 43 Compositions and Tinctures ----- ib. Recipes, No. 1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. ... 48 Method of Dying the Beard and Whiskers, Eye- brows, &c. --_-.-_ 49 CHAPTER IX. Removal of superfluous Hair - - - 61 Depilatories ______ 53 57 CHAPTER X. COSMETICS : Genuine Balm of Mecca, &c. Virgin Milk Description of, by Lady Mary Wortley 65 CONTENTS. Vll PAGE Cosmetic Oils 68 to 72 Cosmetic Washes 73 Denmark Lotion ------ ib. Pigeon Water - - - - - - ib. Wash a la Marie Antoinette - - - 74 Washes to look Young - - - - ib. Vine Water 75 Rose and Pimpernel Waters - - - - ib. Strawberry Water 76 Barley Water _______ ib. Cosmetic Pomades for Wrinkles, Pimples, &c. 77, 78 Observations on Cosmetics - - - - - 79 CHAPTER XI. Injunctions relative to the Refinement of the Skin - 84 Pomatums for the Skin 85 Lip Salves ------- 8688 CHAPTER XII. Paints for the Face --__._ 88 Origin of the Art ------- ib. Observations on ------- 89 1. On White Paint 90 To make White Paint for the Complexion - - 91 A' Salve used as Paint 92 2. On Red Paint ib. Predilection in favour of Red ib. Vegetable Substances - - - - - ib. Mineral ditto -------93 Turkish Method of preparing Carmine - - ib. A Secret to efface Wrinkles - - - - - 95 To compose the Montpellier Toilette 96 CHAPTER XIII. On the Mouth and Breath 97 Causes of tainted Breath, and Treatment 98, 99 To make a fragrant Quid - - - - - 100 Bilious Pills ib. CHAPTER XIV. PAGE On the Lips 102 CHAPTER XV. On the Teeth and Gums 102 Toothpicks, Remarks on - - - - - 103 Economy of the Teeth and Mouth ... 104 CHAPTER XVI. On the Mouth, Tongue, Throat, Teeth, and Gums - 106 Formation of Tartar on the Teeth - - 107 Whiteness of the Teeth, how lost - - - ib. To correct Black Teeth - - - - - ib. To preserve the Teeth 108 Accidents of the Gums ------ ib. Tincture for the Teeth ib. Mixture for decayed Teeth - - - - - 110 Coral Stick for the Teeth Ill To make the Gums firm ib. On False Teeth - - 112 On Dentifrices or Tooth Powders - - - - 113 CHAPTER XVII. To relieve the Tooth-ache without 'removing the Tooth 117 CHAPTER XVIII. On the Ears 123 CHAPTER XIX. On the Eyes and Nose ..... 124 Washes for, &c 126 CHAPTER XX. On the Eye-brows 128 CHAPTER XXI. On the Eye-lashes - - - - - - 130 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIt. PAGE On the Beauty and Expression of the Eyes and Eye- brows -------- 133 On Black Eyes 135 On Blue Eyes 136 On large and small Eyes ib. CHAPTER XXIII. On the Hands and Nails - - - - - 137 To improve the Beauty of - - - - - 13$ Chaps, Remedies for - - - - - 140 Warts and Chilblains, Remedies for - - - 142 CHAPTER XXIV. On the Nails 147 CHAPTER XXV. On the Feet and Toes 151 Corns and Bunions, Remedies for - - - - 155 CHAPTER XXVI. On the Shaving Toilette . - - - - - 156 Economy of the Razor ------ ib. Lotion for a scurfy or tettery Chin - - - 157 Shaving Liquid - - - - - - -159 Transparent Soap - - - - _ - ib. On Hones and Razor Strops ----- ib. To choose and preserve - ib. Accidents in shaving, to remedy and prevent - - 160 CHAPTER XXVII. Ablution by means of the Bath, &c. The Warm Bath, a Cosmetic, &c. - - - - - 162 An Aromatic Bath - - - - - -166 An Emollient Bath for the Feet - - - - 167 A Cosmetic Bath ------ ib % Bath of Modesty ....... ib CHAPTER XXVIII. PAGE The Economy of Dress 169 Animal \Vool 170 Linen Cloth _______ ib. Flannel - - - 172 CHAPTER XXIX. Neckcloths, Stocks, Necklaces - - - - 175 CHAPTER XXX. The Graces 178 CHAPTER XXXI. Concluding Advice to the Ladies - - - - 187 CHAPTER XXXII. Fashion and Dress - - - - - -191 APPENDIX. - - - 194 MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES FOR THE TOILETTE: 1. Eaude Cologne - 194 2. A Kalydor for the Complexion - 195 3. Bags to scent Linen ib. 4. An agreeable sweet-scented Composition - 196 5. A sweet-scented Bag to wear in the Pocket - ib. 6. A Cosmetic Wash-ball - 197 7. Madame Pompadour's Wash-ball - - - ib. 8. A cool evaporating Aromatic Lotion, for the Face, Hands, and Neck ----- ib. 9. A Perfume for Gloves 198 10. Another ib. 1 1 . The Fountain-of- Youth Water - - ib. 12. To make the Hair and Whiskers curl - - 199 THE TOILETTE. INTRODUCTION. IT has long been a subject of general complaint and justly so that every work which has hitherto appeared, professing to have the affairs of the toilette for its object, in which so many personal attentions are combined, and principally a healthy condition of the body with a corresponding complexion, has been greatly deficient in useful information and practical application, to such a degree, as to leave the readers doubtful, and often not a little puzzled how to act, in consulting the high and flat- tering expectations, that, through such equivocal me- diums, have been held out to them. Indeed, it may be safely asserted, that every cosmetic, or beautifier of the skin, the composition of which is kept a secret from the public, is a false and fraudulent commodity' extremely dangerous, always uncertain, and in the majority of cases, decidedly inert. Hence then, our firm opinion that a work which shall treat such subjects in an open, candid, and unpreju- diced manner, without partiality or affection, and on XIV INTRODUCTION. professional principles, seems to have been long want- ing a work of this kind, we repeat, in which the health and personal appearance of every class of so- ciety may be consulted with benefit and safety, and in which, by the explanations laid down, people may be enabled to draw a correct inference between what is actually wholesome, and that which is decidedly delete- rious, is the object of our present labours; but how far we have succeeded in establishing this intention, must be left to the judgment, as well as the opinion of others. Having, in the present volume, treated of the most important subjects of the toilette, and introduced many simple, though no less efficacious means of counteracting diseased action, and promoting a healthy appearance of the skin, with the substances used for correcting many errors connected therewith, we shall lay before our readers at once a brief outline of these operations, in the various provinces to which more particular atten- tion has been directed : namely, 1 . Baths, of every description, for the promotion of health, cleanliness, and exercise. 2. Cosmetics, generally, of various compositions, for the purification of the skin, and to . produce a healthful bloom on the countenance and other external exposed parts. 3. Depilatories, or such substances as may be safely employed for the removal of superfluous hair from parts of the body where it may be neither seemly nor con- venient. INTRODUCTION. XV 4. Dyes, to change the colour of the hair, whiskers, and eye-brows. 5. Lotions, or washes, for healing and renovating, as well as beautifying the skin, wherever it may be in- jured by the heat of the sun, as for the removal of tan, freckles, or scurf; for the eyes, &c. 6. Lip-salves, for preventing and healing chaps or excoriations, and giving a healthy appearance to the orifice of the mouth. 7. Oils for the hair to purify, preserve, and prevent it from turning grey, or falling prematurely. 8. Powders, for various cosmetic purposes. 9. Perfumes of the richest and most permanent odour, . for the person, clothes, wardrobes, &c. 10. Paints, metallic and vegetable their dangerous properties when of the former description and to prepare the latter for certain uses ; with directions and admonitions relating to them 1 when and where ser- viceable. 11. Pomades, of various kinds and fragrance, as well for the hair as the skin. 12. Razors. To select and preserve them for con- stant use. Strops, and soaps for shaving; and the easiest methods of removing the beard, as well as guarding the face from accident, &c. 13. Tooth Powders, of various compositions, as well as the most celebrated ; their various properties, and the materials of which they are compounded. These, with the whole range of the other incidental XVI INTRODUCTION. appendages relating to the toilette, including also the medical treatment of Corns Scorbutic or Spongy Gums Chilblains Tainted Breath Discolorations . Toothache Eruptions Carious, or Decayed Teeth Excrescences Warts Pimples Whitlows Spots &c. &c. These are the principal subjects, to which the most minute attention has been directed ; and in which, at the same time, though distinctly connected, are em- braced the economy of some of the most important structures and functions of the body, with a view to health ; such, for instance, as those parts which require constant attention namely, Beard and Chin Hands Breath Lips Complexion Mouth Ears Mustachios Eyes Nails of the Fingers Eye-brows and Toes Eye-lashes Nose Feet Skin Gums Teeth Hair Tongue Head, generally Whiskers, &c. The wish to enjoy perpetual youth, and consequently to avert the approaches of old age, is probably one of the most predominant and pardonable, and a rational desire to improve and beautify the surface of the body becomes, in consequence, no frivolous pursuit. It excites as much interest and is productive of as bene- INTRODUCTION. XVU ficial consequences, as the exertions of many pseudo- philosophers, who devote the toil of years to arrange their notions in a certain systematic form, hut who are not fortunate enough to attain the great ohject of their labours. We have had many opportunities to observe that the desire of beauty, when restrained within moderate bounds, may prove a source of vir- tuous and laudable pursuits, and may also be greatly instrumental to the preservation of health ; at the same time, we are equally as persuaded that this desire is pursued by methods not the most proper, and that, from not having a just idea of beauty, females make many valuable sacrifices, not only of things essential to health, but sometimes to life itself. These consi- derations, and the means of averting evil consequences, by the adoption of empirical preparations have, we trust, been amply explained. Cleanliness, activity, and flexibility of the skin, are, consistently with our subject, the principal requisites to the health of individuals, as well as of whole nations. But, instead of contributing to its improvement, very little attention is comparatively paid to it, except to the skin of the face and hands, which, but too fre- quently, are made the fallacious index of health. Indeed we are convinced that most of the patients and vale- tudinarians, who take so much pains to refresh and fortify the internal parts of the body, by invigorating potations, seldom, if ever, pay any regard to their external surface an object of equal importance, and b XVlll INTRODUCTION. perhaps standing in much greater need of corroborants than the former. Hence it happens that the skin of convalescents is observed to he particularly relaxed and obstructed ; that they are liable to particular colds upon the least change of temperature, and that every day of their recovery renders them more susceptible of re- lapses. The children of people of the middle and lower ranks, in this country, are perhaps better managed than in most countries on the continent, because frequent and daily bathing is nowhere so generally practised as in England. As soon, however, as children attain a certain age, this practice again is as generally neglected ; and after the tenth or twelfth year, the surface of the body is no longer thought of. Thus a foundation is laid for numberless evils, and particularly for that scorbutic taint, which too often prevails among the lower orders; and which is more or less connected with other un- fashionable complaints among the higher ranks. We then begin to accustom ourselves to sedentary habits, to think, and partake of the pleasures of society. The lady, the man of fortune, and the ill-fated man of letters, all require more active exercise, than they actually take, which alone can promote a free per- spiration, and refresh the surface of the body; but by their indolent habits, the whole machine is in a languid state, and the skin becomes contracted, obstructed, dis- coloured, and debilitated. The husbandman, indeed, labours diligently ; and INTRODUCTION. XIX though, by perspiration, his skin preserves more life and activity, it is neither sufficiently clean, nor pre- vented from being obstructed by perspirable matter. The artist and manufacturer carry on their pursuits in a sedentary manner, and in a confined and impure air ; the latter, in the duties of his occupation, generally employs unwholesome substances, so that, at length, in some parts of the body, he loses the feeling of this organ entirely. The voluptuary and the glutton, do not suffer less than the former, as they impair the energies of the skin by excesses of every kind, and take no precautions to preserve its elastic texture. And if we add to the list of predisposing causes, an inconstant climate, which at one hour of the day braces, at another relaxes the sur- face of the body, alternately heats and cools it, and consequently distracts its uniform action ; it will be easily understood, that the skin must for these reasons become vitiated, and hence a source of many of our most fashionable positions. The just proportion of the fluids, and the circulation of the blood, are also determined in no small degree by the skin ; so that if these fluids become thick and lan- guid, the whole momentum of the blood, is repelled towards the interior parts. Bathing, which could nearly obviate all these effects, is not merely a cleanser of the skin, enlivening and rendering it more fit for performing its offices ; it also refreshes the mind, and spreads over the whole system a sensation of ease, activity, and pleasantness. It XX INTRODUCTION. likewise removes stagnation in the larger, as well as in the capillary vessels ; gives an uniform, free circulation to the blood ; and preserves that wonderful harmony in our interior organs, on the disposition of which our health and comfort depend. In the body of the work, we have constantly endea- voured to shew that beauty and health, are inseparable companions. The female, therefore, who takes the greatest care of her beauty, will, all things else being equal, enjoy the best health, and defer till the latest period, the melancholy arrival of frigid and decrepid age. It is, therefore, we repeat, from particular atten- tion to the skin, that we have to expect health and long life, a comfortable old age, and perhaps also, an effect still more rare, the complete renovation of the physical constitution the restoration of youth which could not fail to crown the triumph of cosmetics. The possibility, in fact, of attaining to extreme old age, is so clearly demonstrated on the authority of ancient as well as modern patriarchs, that we have no occasion to say more on the subject. Numerous are the instances that might be quoted in proof of this assertion ; and that this renovation is possible, and that in part attributable to the good condition of the skin, which is invigorated by diet, air, and exercise, is neither a paradox nor a new broached opinion. Most of the physicians, ancient as well as modern, who have devoted their attention to the means of prolonging life or restoring the vigour of youth, have invariably recommended particular care to be taken of the skin. INTRODUCTION. XXI The skin has such intimate relations with the inter- nal organs, that the condition of the former has an astonishing influence on the latter. When the sensi- bility of the surface is impaired when the myriads of orifices that are designed for the continual purification and renovation of our fluids, are obstructed, if not closed, when the subtle nervous texture is nearly deprived of its energy, so that it becomes an impenetra- ble coat of mail, is there any reason to wonder that we are so often harassed by a sense of constraint and anxiety, and that this uneasiness, in many cases, ter- minates in a desponding gloom, and at length in com- plete melancholy? Paints must not be confounded with Cosmetics, which often really do impart whiteness, freshness, sup- pleness, and brilliancy to the skin, when it is naturally deficient in those qualities; consequently they assist Nature, and make amends for her defects ; and it may be affirmed, that they are to beauty what medicines are to health, when properly and timely administered. Paints are far, however, from answering this purpose. They are not only incapable of embellishing the skin, but those who make use of them are extremely fortu- nate when they do -not contribute to increase their defects. They cannot give the skin the desired qua- lities they only imitate them in a manner more or less coarse : in a word, they may be aptly denominated corporeal hypocrisy. Formerly, in the composition of these paints, mineral XX11 INTRODUCTION. substances were only used; under which name was qualified every composition, white or red, which females with pale faces made use of to heighten their complexion, imitate the colours of youth, or artificially to supply its absence.^ The most ancient paint, and that which has enjoyed the largest favour, was antimony. To embellish and produce fine large black eyes, the women rubbed the eye-lashes and eye-lid with a needle that had been dipped in the liver of antimony; the Syrian, Babylonian, and Arabian women still employ this substance for the eyes ; and also use it to preserve their eyes against the intensity of the sun's rays.^ The Grecian and Roman women paint the eyes black, as well as the Asiatics ; but as this paint does not repair their faded colour, they invented others, namely, the white and red. Throughout nearly all Asia and Africa, the people paint different parts of the body white, red, yellow and green, according to their ideas of beauty. For a length of time the Russian women were in the habit of using rouge, plucking out the hairs of the eye-brows, and painting them artificially. The Greenland women daub their faces with white and yellow ; the Zemblian women make blue streaks on their foreheads and chins; the Mingrelian women paint the whole face, the eye-brows, forehead, the nose, and cheeks ; the Japanese paint the eye-brows and lips blue; the Arabians apply a blue colour to the lips, and the most exposed parts of the body, which they convey into the flesh by means of a INTRODUCTION. XX111 needle made expressly for the purpose. In Turkey they make their eyes blacker by means of a dye which is injected into them ; in like manner they change the colour of the hair, the hands and feet, yellow and red. The Moorish women use molybdena to dye the eye- lashes and eye-brows. In fine, the women of Asia, Africa, and some parts of America, paint various parts of their body, colour the hair, and tattoo themselves in a variety of ways, according to their own views of beauty and taste indeed, paint appears to be the in- separable appendage to the toilette of the ladies of all countries. The practice of painting began to be adopted in France and England during the time of Catherine de Medicis. It was not till long afterwards that it became general; but during the last century it arrived at such a pitch, especially among the higher orders of society, that none but individuals of the lower classes durst appear in public with faces such as nature had formed them. It cannot be expected that persons unacquainted with the composition of cosmetics, or paints, should be able to discriminate between a vegetable and a mineral pre- paration. So many pernicious nostrums are advertised of the latter class, all for the pretended purpose of beautifying and embellishing the human face, that too frequently instead of accomplishing the desired object, they obstruct many of the most important operations of nature, which insensibly consume the vital heat, check INTRODUCTION. the perspiration, and lay the foundation of cutaneous as well as internal diseases, which sap the constitution, and end in deformity and disease. Thus, from the implicit credulity of some, and the exuberant imagi- nation of others, observations and experiments, how- ever incompatible with sound reason and philosophy, have been multiplied, with the avowed design of esta- blishing proofs or refutations of this or that absurd opinion. In this manner have fanaticism and imposture falsified the plainest truths, or forged the most un- founded and ridiculous claims ; insomuch that one glaring inconsistency was employed to combat another, and folly succeeded folly, till a fund of materials has been transmitted to posterity, sufficient to form a history of the subject of no contemptible magnitude. In proportion as people value their lives, comforts and conveniences, in the same ratio ought they to dis- trust nostrums of every description, be they either for internal use or external application. Bears' grease, certain oils, balms, balsams, kalydors, &c., are so many gulleries held up to the credulous, as to reflect discredit on human penetration and sagacity, when their adoption is preferred on the solitary ipse dixit of the vendor, to the more simple processes and preparations which nature, with the aid of cleanliness, is certain of effecting, without either danger or disap- pointment : we cannot recommend any of the advertised nostrums either for the hair or the complexion. THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. CHAP. I. CLEANLINESS. As a preservative of health the value of cleanliness must be obvious to every sensitive mind, whether indeed it be considered in a medical, a moral, or a cosmetical point. Personal cleanliness, and every thing connected therewith, is a principal duty of man : an unclean and dirty person is never in health, and, at best, is always a loathsome and disgusting sight. It is better to wash twenty times a-day, than to allow a dirty spot to remain on any part of the skin. On places where im- purities are suffered to obstruct the pores of the skin, the insensible perspiration is not only suppressed, but the absorption by the skin also ; and if the whole body be, as it were, covered with a crusted coat of perspi- rated matter, it is impossible under such disgusting circumstances to possess sound blood, or enjoy good health. \s THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The body, and particularly the joints, ought to be frequently washed with pure water, especially in sum- mer, when the perspirable matter, being of an unctuous, clammy nature, obstructs the excretion by the pores. The face, neck, and hands, being most exposed to the air, dust, and the like, ought to be daily washed, morning and evening. Attention should also be paid to the ears, by occasionally cleaning them out, that the sense of hearing may not be impaired by the accumu- lation of indurated wax, which, from its acrid nature, may prove unpleasant as well as injurious. The whole head ought to be frequently washed and cleaned, as it perspires much, and is, besides, exposed to the dust and other particles in the atmosphere. Washing opens the pores, while the comb, by its close application to the skin, removes the viscid humours and renders them fluid. The use of baths, too much neglected, ought to be more generally introduced. It is not sufficient for the great purposes of cleanliness and health, that a few or more wealthy families repair every season to watering places, or that they even make use of other modes of bathing, either for health or amusement. A very dif- ferent method must be pursued, if we sincerely wish to restore the vigour of a degenerated race: we mean here to inculcate the indispensible necessity of domestic laths, so well known among the ancients, and so uni- versally established all over Europe a few centuries ago. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. CHAP. II. TOILETTE OF THE HAIR, AND HEAD-DRESSES OF THE ANCIENTS. " Fallen is thy hair and beauty is no more." THE ancients considered the hair of the head as the principal ornament of beauty. Venus herself, says Apu- leius, were she destitute of hair, would cease to charm her husband, Vulcan;* and agreeably with this idea, we find the poets often representing the loss of this embellishment as fatal to personal beauty, in language of similar import to the above line. We meet indeed with scarcely any description of a fine and beautiful woman or man in the Poems of Ossian, without the hair being introduced as one of the greatest ornaments of their persons. Boadicea, the y - . * " Take away the hair pf a beautiful woman, strip her , brow of this ornament, and had she even descended from heaven, were she engendered by the sea, were she Venus herself accompanied by the Loves and the Graces, begirt with her Cistus, and perfumed with the most exquisite odours, if she appears with a bald head, she cannot please : Even her Vulcan would think her disagreeable. " B 2 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, heroic queen of the Iceni,* is described by Dis, with very long hair, flowing over her shoulders, floating in the air, and reaching down below the middle of her back.f The ancient Britons were extremely proud of the length and beauty of their hair; and it was es- teemed a considerable honour among the ancient Gauls to have long hair. Hence CaBsar, upon subduing this people, made them cut off their hair in token of their submission. The hair of both Jewish and Grecian women engaged a principal share of their attention; and the Roman ladies seem to have been no less curious with respect to theirs. They generally wore it long, and dressed in a variety of ways, ornamenting it with gold, silver, &c. On the contrary, the men among the Greeks and Romans, and among the later Jews, wore their hair short, as may be collected from books, medals, and statues. This formed a chief distinction * The Iceni, in the ancient geography of England, inha- bited the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge and Hunt- ingdon. Their heroic queen Boadicea, being defeated and ill-treated by the Romans, poisoned herself. A. D. 61. t We learn from Juvenal and Horace, that, among the Romans, nothing was deemed more essential to the beauty of a young person, than a fine long head of hair " Loose to the wind her golden tresses streamed." PETRARCH. But they had a custom of cutting it short about the age of seventeen, and of keeping it so ever after. See Spences Polymetes, abridged by Tindal, 2d Edit. p. 115. * BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 5 in dress between the sexes ; an observation which illus- trates a passage in the apostle Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians.* We read of a Trojan, in Homer, who had his hair " instarred with gems and gold," and Madam Dacier informs us, that the Athenians were accustomed to put little grashoppers of gold in their hair. Others, we are told, perfumed their hair with large quantities of fragrant oil, and powdered it with gold-dust.f Those to whom nature had refused this agreeable ornament, supplied the defect by art. The Greeks, and after their example the Romans, wore false hair; a custom which * The Israelites wore their hair very long, and they thought nothing too valuable to enhance the beauty of that highly prized ornament. Josephus informs us, that the guards of king Solomon had long hair floating down their shoulders, and that they every day powdered their hair with gold spangles, which glistened exceedingly when the sun shone upon them. t This practice of embellishing the hair with gold powder, which certainly proves the high value that was set upon it, was not confined to the Jewish nation alone. Some of the Roman Emperors adopted this fashion, as we are informed by Tribellius, Pollio, and others, concerning the Emperor Gallienus, and by ^Elius Lampredius respecting the Emperor Commodus. Suetonius also relates, that when Nero ap- peared upon the stage, either for the purpose of playing on the lyre, or reciting verses of his own composition, which his soldiers, with drawn sabres, obliged the spectators to applaud, he had his hair sprinkled with gold powder, that he might resemble Apollo. 6 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, has at times greatly prevailed in other countries, not excepting our own.* The Greeks, and other nations, when mourning for their deceased relations or parti- cular friends, tore, cut off, and sometimes shaved their hair, which they laid upon the corpse, or threw into the pile, to he consumed together with the body : and this was deemed a token of violent affection. Thus Achilles and others, in Homer, offer theirs to Patroculus : " O'er all the corpse their scattered locks they throw ;" and the little Cupids, on the death of Adonis, according to Bion, " Shear their locks, excess of grief to show." Again ; " When insatiate death had ravished the youth- ful and blooming Temas," Her loved companions pay the rites of woe, All, all, alas ! the living can bestow ! From their fair heads the graceful curls they shear, Place on her tomb, and drop the tender tear. SAPPHO. * Among the Romans, those who were bald and would not wear a wig, had recourse to a method which to us appears truly extraordinary. They caused hair to be painted on their bare skull, with perfumes and essences composed ex- pressly for that purpose. In verification of this, the exist- ence of so strange a custom, Martial, in an epigram on Phoebus, thus addresses him: "your counterfeit hair is a falsehood of the perfume which imitates it ; and your skull disgracefully bald, is covered with painted locks ; and you have no occasion for a barber for your head, Phcebus ; yon may shave yourself much better with a sponge." BEAUTY, AND FASHION. This custom is taken notice of in the Scriptures (see Ezek. xxvii. 31). It is recorded by Herodotus, that Mardonius, the Persian General, after one of his de- feats, cut off his hair in token of his grief; and Plu- tarch tells us, that when Alexander's friend Hephestion died, that " mighty robber and murderer," to express his sorrow, ordered the manes of all his horses and mules to be cut off. The Gauls, before the establishment of the monarchy, wore their hair very long ; and this custom, says Pliny, gave the whole country the appellation of the hairy Gaul, (Gallia Comata). But, on the foundation of the monarchy, the kings, desirous of having a dis- tinctive mark of their pre-eminence, reserved the right of wearing long hair for themselves and the princes of the blood. Their subjects were forbidden to wear long hair ; and this custom continued till the twelfth century, when Pierre Lombard, Bishop of Paris, at length pre- vailed upon the king to repeal this prohibition. During the early period of the monarchy, the hair was held in such veneration, that if the object was to degrade a prince, his head was shaved. In this manner Clovis treated Casaric, whom he had conquered. The son of that king, involved in the same disgrace, said to his father, in order to comfort him : " My hair, which has been cut off, was nothing but green branches, which will grow again, for the trunk is not dead." People, at that time, swore by the hair of their head ; and this oath was then held as sacred as when a man now-a- days swears " upon his word and honour." 8 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Traitors implicated in one and the same plot, were sentenced to cut off each other's hair. Tredegonda caused the hair of a mistress of her son-in-law to be cut off, and hung up at the door of the prince's apartment. This sort of proceeding was at that time considered as the height of barharity. A very singular custom of those times likewise proves the great estimation in which the hair of the head was held. In saluting any one to whom it was intended to show the greatest mark of respect, the highest compliment that could be paid was to pluck out a hair from his head, and present it to him. It is related that Clovis pulled a hair from his head, and gave it to St. Germier, to prove how highly he esteemed him, and that the courtiers who witnessed this action of the monarch, were eager to pluck each of them a hair, and to present it to the virtuous bishop, who withdrew enchanted with the politeness of the court. Very grave authors have written some very extensive commentaries on the weight of Absalom's hair; though the question, we believe, is still undecided; and it is more than probable that it will never be again agitated. We read (Sam. xiv. 25, 26), that it weighed no less than 200 shekels, which, if computed by the Jewish shekel, as calculated by Bishop Cumberland,* amount to the * Jewish doctors greatly differ in estimating the weight of the shekels so often mentioned in the Old Testament. One in the cabinet of Louis xvi, is said to weigh 268 grains : BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 9 enormous ponderosity of 8 Ibs. 4 oz. troy. But, for- tunately for the march of intellect, it has been re- marked, that when the books of Samuel were revised, after the Babylonish captivity, such weights were men- tioned as were then known to them; and therefore when the historian mentions this weight of Absalom's hair, he adds, by way of explanation, that it was after the king's weight; i. e. after the weight of the king of Babylon whose shekel was only one-third of that of the Jews ; by which supputation the quantity of hair is so reduced, as not to appear altogether incredible : more especially if it be recollected how much the supple- mentary o decorations of those days must increase its weight. After all, it may perhaps be more reasonable to say, with the judicious Harmer, that the present reading may be faulty, as in other cases there have frequently been mistakes in numbers. " It was," says this admirable writer, " an uncommonly fine head of hair, of very unusual weight, which is all we know with certainty about it." Obs. vol. ii. p. 400, fyc. Many commentators imagine that Absalom was sus- pended by his hair when he was killed by Joab : but others suppose that his neck was so wedged in between the boughs by the quick motion of the mule, that he was not able to disengage himself; " For," subjoin Bishop Cumberland however, asserts, that he always found each of the many that he had weighed, about half-an-ounce, or 240 grains. 10 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, these last, " he certainly wore a helmet when he went to battle," and hence they conclude, that his hair could not he entangled in the boughs. In many countries, the privation of the hair was a punishment inflicted by public authority ; even at the present day, criminal law carries it to a certain extent in most countries in Europe. The Greeks and the Chactas punished adulteresses by cutting off their hair, which was not suffered to grow again till the following year. The loss of the hair, by females, was considered as the greatest misfortune that could befall them. Thus Martial, vomiting forth imprecations against the women, whom he detests, exclaims, " may the Sala- mander which possesses the property of making the hair fall off, leave upon thy head traces of his poison, or may the unsparing razor strip it entirely, that thy mirror may exhibit to thee an image worthy of thyself." And, if it be permitted to pass from a profane to a sacred sub- ject, the prophet Isaiah says, " because the daughters of Zion have exalted themselves, and have held their heads high as they have walked, making signs with their eyes and gestures with their hands, because they have measured all their steps and studied all their atti- tudes, the Lord will make bald the heads of the daughters of Zion, and will pluck up all their hair." Having now shown the high estimation in which, as the " decus et tutamen" of the human head, the hair has been held ; we will now proceed to an analytical inves- tigation of it, as regards its structure and properties. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 11 Under Charles II., the ladies' hair was curled and frizzled with the nicest art, and they frequently set it off, as at the present day, with artificial curls, called heart-breakers ; sometimes a string of pearls, or an orna- ment of ribbon, was worn on the head ; and in the latter part of this reign, hoods of various kinds were in fashion. Patching and painting the face, than which nothing was more common in France, was also too general in England ; but what was much worse, females offered a mean betwixt dress and nakedness, which occasioned the publication of a book entitled, " A Just and Seasonable Reprehension of Naked Breasts and Shoulders, with a Preface, by Richard Baxter." A few years afterwards, in the reign of William III., the hair was worn much frizzled and curled: jewels, pearls, and amber, were generally worn in the hair ; and ear- rings, necklaces, bracelets, ornaments on the stomacher and shoulders. It appears by the broad seal of Charles II., in Sand- ford, dated 1653, that he wore long hair and whiskers. It also appears from the prints of him in Sir William Lewis's accounts of his establishments at the Hague the same year, that he sometimes wore a large cravat, and, at other times, a long falling band with tassels. His ruffles were large, his doublet short, with large tops, his hair long, with a lock on the right side much longer than the rest. In the reign of Queen Anne the ladies wore the hair in a becoming manner curled round the face. The 12 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, flowing wig, or rather veil, of the finest linen, fastened upon the head, fell behind, and prevailed till the high- projecting head-dress was restored, after it had been also continued fifteen years. It was observed by Swift when dining with Sir Thomas Hanmer, that the Duchess of Grafton, who was there, and wore this unbecoming, ungraceful, Babel head-dress, looked "like a mad woman." Her majesty observed the greatest decorum in her dress, and would often condescend to observe in her domestics of either sex, whether a ruffle or a periwig, or the lining of a coat, was appropriate. Lord Bolingbroke was once sent for in haste by the queen, and went to her majesty in a ramillie or tie- wig, instead of a full-bottomed one, which so offended his sovereign, that she said, " I suppose that his lord- ship will come to court the next time in his periwig." A MAN OF FASHION IN THE YEAR 1652. Mr. Benlowes, in his 'Theophila/ published in 1652, has given us a print of a man of fashion. In his hat, the brim of which is extended horizontally, is a large feather ; it inclines much to the right side, as if it were falling off his head. His hair is very long; his ruffles are double; his doublet reaches no lower than the waistband of his breeches; his sword is enormous, and suspended to a belt, which comes over his right shoulder ; his breeches are large, with puffs like small blown bladders, quite round the knees; his boots are BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 13 very short, with fringed tops, which are almost as ample in their dimension as the brim of his hat. It appears from the same author, that black patches were some- times worn by the beaux during the Commonwealth. Short hair, short bands, short cloaks, and long visages frequently occur in the portraits of this period. Mr. Benlowes has also given us prints of two ladies of the same period, from the pencil of Hallar one in a summer, the other in a winter dress. The former is without a cap, has her hair combed like a wig, except that which grows on the crown of the head, which is nicely braided, and rounded in a knot. Her neck- handkerchief is surrounded with a deep scalloped lace, and her cuffs are laced much in the same manner. The sleeves of her gown have many slashes, through which her linen is very conspicuous; her fan is of moderate size. The latter is represented in a close black hood and a black mask, which just conceals her nose. She wears a sable tippet, and holds a large muff of the same kind, which entirely hides her arms. " The hair" (at the end of the reign of Charles I.), says Dr. Granger, " was worn low on the forehead, and generally imparted : some wore it very long, others of a moderate length. The king, and consequently many others, wore a low lock on the left side, which was considerably longer than the rest of the hair." The unseemliness of this fashion occasioned Mr. Prynne to write a book in quarto against low locks. The beard dwindled very gradually under the two 14 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Charles's, till it was reduced to a slender pair of whiskers. It became quite extinct in the reign of Jame II., as if its fatality had been with that of the unfortunate house of Stuart. Ladies wore their hair low on the forehead, and packed in very small ringlets. Many wore it curled like a peruke, and some braided and rounded in a knot on the top of the crown. They frequently wore strings of pearls in their hair. Ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, and other jewels, were also much worn. The periwig, which had been long used in France, was introduced into England soon after the restoration.* Some men of tender consciences were greatly scan- dalized at this article of dress (the wig), as equally indecent with long hair, and more culpable, because more unnatural. Many preachers inveighed against it in their sermons, and cut their hair shorter, to ex- press their abhorrence of the reigning mode. Patches were routed from the toilette towards the close of Queen Anne's reign, as Addison insisted upon it that every patch argued a pimple ; and to wash away this impression, an inundation of cold creams and lotions rushed in from the Continent. * There is a tradition, that the large black wig which Dr. R. K. bequeathed, among other things of much less consideration, to the Bodleian library, was worn by Charles II. -Fide Granger's Siog. Diet. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 15 CHAP. III. THE FOREHEAD AND ITS DECORATIONS. v^ " A symmetrical development of the forehead or what is usually termed a high forehead, full and hroad in just proportion, without the conical inclination of some tolerably high fronts, denotes, in the language of the Phrenologists, a predomination of the intellectual facul- ties over the animal qualities, which are lodged farther hack, or in the occiput, v Now, as there is much truth in Phrenology, this characteristic of the forehead is probably one of its features, better borne out and sup- ported by experience and observation than many others. A low forehead, with a bulky head backwards, inclines proportionally to the reverse of the former namely, that the animal qualities predominate over the intellec- tual faculties ; that the individual approaches more closely to the instinctive faculties of animals, than the cultivated, if not innate, intelligence of the human species. Here then we shall drop our Craneological remarks so far, and commence our observations on the beauty and decorations of the forehead.* * The forehead barely covered with hair, or neatly and boldly exposed, are distinguishing marks of the condition of 16 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, In every age and country, the head-dress of the ladies has been more suhject to the capricious tyranny of fashion than the decoration of any other part of the body. Ancient authors abound with declamations against the absurdities committed by women in the manner of dressing their hair, and against the circum- stances of their taste. " You are at a loss," says Tertullian, " what to be at with your hair. Sometimes you put it into a press; at others, you tie it negligently together, or set it entirely at liberty. You raise or lower it according to your fancy. Some keep it closely twisted up into curls, while others choose to let it float loosely in the wind;" a proof that women have ever manifested the same love of change. It is, therefore, in vain to declaim against the practice of the present day, and to lay to its account a frivolity not at all pecu- liar to it, but the honour of which it shares with every preceding age. There is now-a-days, as formerly, the same succession of good and bad taste, of pleasing or life of the wearers, or rather of the good or bad taste of the age. Fortune without taste is still a mark of servile acquisi- tion. The manners of certain classes of individuals adhere, more or less, to their origin, notwithstanding the advan- tages of sudden commercial or mechanical opulence. Do- mestic habits take early root, and it is only by some casual or portentous deviation or attraction from the aboriginal trait, that the descendents of opulent boors shake off the clown- ish husk of their enslaved predecessors. The high and un- covered forehead denotes taste and refinement the forehead covered over to the very eyes, plebeian origin and habits. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 17 grotesque fashions. To expect the fair sex, therefore, to relinquish the love of change, would be to require an impossibility. Let us, then, be satisfied with de- siring that caprice may not be the motive of their inconstancy, and that the changes they adopt may, at least, be consistent with the principles of good taste. The women of the present day are much improved in the management and dressing of the hair; though still pretty generally exists the making it fall in heavy curl- ing locks over the forehead and eyes, a custom totally at variance with every principle of good taste, and destructive of every kind of beauty. The large French curls, when they do not obscure the forehead, are divided on each side of the temple in diagonal, successive rows. The forehead, the seat of lovely candour and maiden purity, which the Greek fair so carefully displayed by turning the hair on either side in a semi-circle towards the temples, and which so exquisitely terminates and completes the contour of a beautiful face, ought not to be concealed by the hair, either in male or female, as if a mark were placed over it. " To give the face the oval form and the comple- ment of beauty," says Winkelman, the apostle of beauty, " the hair ought to crown the forehead, and to surround the temples, describing a portion of a circle, as it is in general seen in beautiful persons. This form of the forehead is so appropriate to all ideal heads, and the juvenile figures of the ancients, that we meet none with retreating angles, and destitute of hair above 18 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the temples. Very few modern statuaries have made this remark; all the modern restorations which have placed juvenile heads of men on antique trunks, are distinguishable at first sight by the faulty composition of the hair, which advances in salient angles upon the forehead." On this point, Lavater concurs in the same opinion with Winkelman ; and the ancients thought the hair produced a very bad effect if it descended so low as to hide the forehead. Lucian, designing to represent, in the most ludicrous manner, the hair of an ugly woman, says that it was short, flat, and glued down as it were to her forehead which might lead us, indeed, were the circumstance not so remote, to imagine he was either describing some of our modern belles, or an Esquimaux Indian. The ancients, in fine, never represented men with short straight hair upon the forehead, if we except their statues of Hercules. In this case, it was looked upon as an emblem of strength, in allusion to the hair which grows between the horns of the bull. Sidonius Apollinaris, in describing the Franks of the fifth cen- tury, says, " you have conquered monsters whose hair falls down upon the forehead, while it is cropped quite close down behind." The Franks then dressed their hair, fourteen centuries ago, like the generality of our modern belles some years since ; and the coachmen, pugilists, and others of the present day. Not only the Roman women wore long hair, but the fashionables of the opposite sex, who endeavoured in BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 19 their costume to copy the feminine graces, also wore their hair very long, as Juvenal, Ovid, and other writers inform us. The bushy, shock-like manner of covering the fore- head with a profusion of hair, even in curls, as worn by the loungers, dandies, and mimic militaires, is re- volting to the countenance of a man ; and not only do such effeminate appendages subtract from youth, aspect, and manliness of appearance, but frequently leave us in doubt of the gender of the individual, with other im- pressions derogatory to the honour, sentiments, and taste of Englishmen. We mean not to imply that our heads, as well as those of the ladies, ought not to come within the proper sphere of the artist, and indeed nothing is more becoming and proper ; but we declaim against the intro- duction of foreign locks, curls, and fripperies, which serve to baboonize and obscure, rather than to ornament and illustrate the face of man, however whimsical or parsi- monious nature may have been in the moulding of it. As regards the ladies, we would still recommend them to copy the Greek style, not only in their head-dresses, the principal ornament of the body, but also in their garments, as closely as the manners and customs of the country, combined with good sense and modesty, will permit. Our milliners, indeed, bear away from our painters the palm of invention, and if our designers wish to pro- duce something truly ridiculous in the variety of the head-dresses, particularly bonnets, they have only to c 2 20 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, copy some of the specimens of the present day. We have heard of love in a hood ; but it was reserved for the present age to display the Graces in bonnets. The introduction, however, of this huge fashion is not with- out its advantages : it produces a very happy effect in caricatures, and some of our artists have not failed to profit by it; it gives employment to our fair mar- chandes de mode, and occupies the more industrious part of the sex, who depend for support on honourable exertion and fair competition. We shall conclude our observations on head-dresses with the following remarks: It may be asked, how ought the head to be dressed? Perhaps it may be replied, chacun a son gout. The ladies themselves, how- ever, would find no difficulty in resolving the question, would they give themselves the trouble to look after the head-dress which best becomes them, and not that which is most in vogue; and if they would not all adopt the same fashion, seeing that what becomes one may not become another. Different complexions, sta- tures, shapes, busts, gaits, &c. would group but un- seemly under the same head covering, be it cap or bonnet. A small head cannot possibly look well in the dress required by a head of -larger dimensions, and yet this preposterous transposition is observable every day. One, for instance, has a diminutive phiz, and a snub or what is usually ycleped a pug nose ; who sees another whose elegant, noble, and well-adapted head- BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 21 dress, commands universal admiration ; and whose features are cast in a Roman mould ; her figure con- sequently requiring larger ornaments, and greater capa- city in the articles of attire. Now, for the purpose of better illustration, Julia, whose face is diminutive, and who knows not why this head-dress looks so well upon Amelia, adopts it the next day because it does look well, and next day the little Julia looks truly ridi- culous. Again, Lucretia has fine eyes, but her mouth is not so handsome. Caroline's eyes are less beautiful, but her smile is enchanting. A hat placed very low would ill-become Lucretia, since it would conceal her principal charms, and leave nothing in view but imperfections ; whereas the very same constructed hat would be a most advantageous head-dress for Caroline, as it would throw a favourable shade over her eyes, and give additional lustre and attraction to the prettiest mouth in the world. It might, in fine, be proved by many other instances, that every woman as well as every man ought to have an appropriate costume, and that they will always be dressed, if they consult not the fashion but their looking-glass. If a lady does not say to her hair- dresser, I will have my hair dressed like Miss or Mrs. So-and-so but, I will have it trimmed and arranged in the manner which will best become me ; if she knows, for instance, that a head-dress which stands forward and looks very well on a woman with a prominent nose and chin, makes a person with a very small nose and flat 22 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, chin, appear perfectly ridiculous. Above all, let us have no monstrously large head-dresses. The frame, ought not to have a greater superficies than the picture ; for then the former, which ought to he an accessory would become the principal object. Such is precisely the case with a head-dress of too great size : the face is buried in it. Excess in height or breadth is equally ridiculous, and absurdities of this kind have had their day like all others, and at the present period large overwhelming bonnets were never more in unfashion- able and inconvenient vogue. CHAP. IV. FORMATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE HAIR- OF THE SKIN. To understand the hair properly, it is necessary to possess some knowledge of the skin from which it grows. The skin is composed of three different tunics or layers : a thin one like India paper, being outermost, which by anatomist is called the epidemis or scarf skin, and is not an organized body, for no nerves or vessels BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 23 have ever been traced to it. It may rather be consi- dered as a covering resulting from the drying of the external layers of the mucous membrane. Its use appears to be to blunt the otherwise too acute sensi- bility of the true skin properly so called, and to protect it from the impression of external bodies. The next layer, a kind of glutinous, slimy pulp, or paint, in form of a membrane, which determines the colour ; and within these two, a thick, strong, leathery coaf, usually called the true skin. To be brief, the human skin has a similar number of layers or coats to the bark of a tree. It is to be recollected, also, that the outer layer, like the nails, has no feeling a useful quality, which serves to protect the great sensibility of the inner skin, where the nerves terminate in millions. Now, if you extract a hair from any part of your skin, and survey its root with a magnifying glass, you will perceive it of an oval form, and composed of a softish, glutinous, or pulpy matter, contained in a semi-trans- parent bag, open at the lower end to receive nerves and blood-vessels, and at the upper to receive this hair. The root is fixed in the substance of the inner skin, by which it is nourished with blood and other fluids. The roots of the hair are planted here in great profusion over the whole body, and what is very remarkable and little known, is, that in every individual, many more roots exist than hairs growing from them; a fact further corroborated by hairs often appearing on the nose and ears of men, and on the arms of women, where they were 24 THC TOILETTE OF HEALTH, before wanting.* It is considered, therefore, a vulgar error that the roots of the hair are destroyed, or perish, in cases of baldness, though they cease to grow above the skin. It is probable, and possible indeed, for the roots of the hair, as well as the skin in which they are planted, to be destroyed by accident, or by ulceration and other disorders; but this, we maintain, does not occur from fevers, or in either the young or the old who become bald. In all such cases, the roots of the hair can, "by dissection after death, be found equally numerous as in those who are not bald, and the cause of the baldness must be sought elsewhere, as will after- wards be seen, when speaking of the remedies. There is another important fact, which we believe was discovered by Mr. Chevalier namely, that the hairs do not rise perpendicularly from their roots, but pass very obliquely, and at an acute angle, through the two outer coats of the skin, serving to bind these down to the inner coat, as if nature had used the hairs for sewing thread. This fact explains the direction and flat position of the hairs on the eye-brows and other parts ; and shews the reason why the hairs stick so fast, and are pulled out with such difficulty. But what is of the greatest consequence in our opinion, is, that it explains how the roots of the hair may exist healthy, vigorous, * See Mr. Chevalier's Lectures, delivered before the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 1823, 8vo. And Dr. Good's Study of Medicine, vol.iv. p. 663. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 25 and perfect, and the outer coats of the skin may be so hard, dry, or thickened, as to prevent them from pene- trating it as they may have formerly done. Each hair is formed of ten or twelve smaller hairs, which unite at the root, and form a hollow tube some- what like a very fine stalk of grass, jointed at intervals. The joints appear to overlap each other, as if one small tube were inserted into that which is nearest to it, and so on to the end of the hair. This structure, though invisible to the naked eye, may be made manifest to the touch. Take a hair several inches long, and work it between your thumb and finger, and you will find that it will always work towards the top end, and never (turn it as you will) towards the root end proving that the rough over-lappings are all directed to the top. It is this property that the hat-maker takes advantage of in making his felt, and the dyer in fixing his colours ; and we shall by-and-by see its advantage in devices for beautifying the hair. Like the outer skin and the nails, the hollow tube of the hair is semi-transparent, and takes the colour of the matter which rises in this tube from the root. It follows, indeed, pretty uniformly the colour of the skin, being very dark in the negro, and always white in the Albino, while it takes all intermediate shades in Europeans flaxen, auburn, carroty. The hair corresponds also to the colour of the eyes ; light hair seldom or never ac- companying dark eyes. From these facts we shall find it easy to explain the causes of grey hairs, and the best 26 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, methods of darkening them. When you cut the nails, they go on to grow again ; and so with the hair, not by extending from the root end, but by additions to the top end. It grows best when it is cut ; and not only so, but the shorter it is cut the more rapidly it will grow, as is seen in the rapid growth of the beard. STRUCTURE AND VEGETATION OF HAIR. Mr. Harriot examined both the structure and vegeta- tion of hairs. They do not grow, he says, as plants, which shoot forth their sap into their fibres and bark, to the extremities of their branches ; but as nails, so that what is last formed of them drives forward and out of the flesh what was already formed. If the hairs should be dyed into a colour from what they are naturally, that which grows anew near the skin of the head, is of a different colour from the rest. Hairs are composed of five or six fibres, inclosed in a tube, most commonly cylindrical, but sometimes oval, or angular. This is easily discernible by the microscope, and even by the naked eye ; for, when the hairs split, it is the tube that splits and opens, and the fibres that sepa- rate. The fibres and tube of the hair are transparent, and this multiplicity of transparent fibres should have, in regard to rays, the same effect as a glass cut facet-wise. Thus when a hair is held near the sight of the eye, in looking at a bougie at a short distance, a ray is seen to appear on each side of the bougie, and each ray BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 27 is composed of three or four small, somewhat obscure and coloured images of the bougie, which proves that every fibre of the hair makes appear by refraction a bougie separate from the rest; and as refraction only produces colours, those of every of the bougies prove the same. Those who have attributed all the rays that appear about candles to the reflections made on the edge of the eye-lids, are therefore mistaken. Those reflections produce but two rays, one upper and the other lower, and their light is also very white, because they are only reflected. But all the others that are coloured come from refractions made in the hairs of the eye-lids ; and much more of them are seen, when a great number of rays are made to pass through the eye-lids by half shutting the same ; and none of them are seen when the eyes are wide open. 28 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. CHAP. V. ON THE CAUSES OP GREY HAIR, BALDNESS, ETC. THE hair, as has been shewn in the preceding chapter, is composed of a root and a hollow-jointed stem, into which a colouring oil rises. From these facts may be deduced a very rational account of the causes, both of baldness and grey hair and it is a medical maxim to which there are few exceptions, that a disease can very seldom be cured unless its cause be known. If, therefore, a satisfactory account of the causes of grey hair and baldness can be given, we put you half in pos- session of their remedies, even though we go no further > or, at the very least, show you why no remedy need be tried. It is supposed by Dr. Darwin and others, that the vivid white reflected from the winter snow, is the cause of animals in the high northern latitudes be- coming white in winter. This singular change takes place in our country in two instances. The Alpine hare and the ptarmigan, or mountain partridge, though brownish grey in summer, become wholly white as soon as the snow begins to cover their places of resort. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 29 Dr. Darwin's opinion on this subject seems to be derived from the cameleon, which is said to take the colour of every object at which it looks. If it looks at a field of grass, it becomes green; if it looks at the sky, it becomes blue; if it look at snow it becomes white. He accordingly maintained, that it was the action of the white snow upon their eyes, which turned all the Polar animals white in winter ; and for a similar reason he would infer that larks are grey, because they frequent sandy fields; and canaries yellow, because they are reared in brass wire cages ! The doctor forgets to inform us how cattle and sheep escape becoming green, or how a painter escapes having his face va- riegated with all the colours of the rainbow. On the contrary, we are strongly inclined to believe, that the winter white colour of the Polar animals is mainly to be attributed to the cold. For were it pos- sible by any means to contract the skin at the roots of the hair, so as to compress the tube, and prevent the coloured oil from rising, there will only remain the dry body of the hair, and it will of course be white. Such a contraction of the skin may be produced by cold, by grief, or fear, as well as by fevers and other disorders of the system ; and the skin, independent of the hair, will assume a similar appearance to a fowl stripped of its feathers. Every one has heard of instances of the hair being, by grief or fear, Turned white In a single night ; .30 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, and this, we conceive, is the true explanation of the occurrence. Dr. Parr explains the hair becoming grey on chemical principles: he thinks that some acid is generated by the depressing passions, which whitens the hair as bleaching liquor whitens cloth; which, it must be admitted, is rather far-fetched. The principle to which we refer the cause of the hair becoming grey in old age, gives a clearer explanation, as at that period the skin, like the bones, shrinks and contracts for want of moisture; and the same effects will follow in the young, from any cause that will make the skin shrink and contract so as to strangle the hair at its roots, and prevent the coloured oil from rising in its tube. The same principle will show the utter inefficiency of most of the advertised remedies and preventives ; as, unless they be directed to the removal or prevention of the cause, it is quite impossible that they can be successful. Grey hair is, therefore, a mark of shrunk and con- tracted skin whether it be the effect of external causes, such as cold; or internal causes, such as grief, fear y headache, too much application to business, intensity of thought ; and whether it occur in manhood or old age. There is another cause of the hair turning grey, worthy of being noticed from its extensive influence, It is well known that the bones are composed chiefly of lime, jelly, and oil; but the lime often predomi- nates so much that the bones are rendered extremely brittle : and often, also, bones are formed in the heart, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 31 brain, and other substances, where they produce serious trouble. The brittleness of the bones is sometimes so great that a fit of coughing will break them. Dr. Good informs us that he once saw an old woman break both her thigh-bones by simply kneeling at church, and on raising her up her arm-bone also snapped. Now this superabundance of lime in the body is caused by every sort of intemperance and external indulgence, or, in a word, by whatever robs the body of its juices ; and it is consequently, the usual attendant of old age, when the juices fail. When it does occur, the tubes of the hair, at the roots, seem to be obstructed by this lime : the colouring oil cannot of course get into the stem of the hair, and it becomes grey, dry, and brittle, like the old lady's bones just mentioned. The same thing has been known to follow small-pox, scrofula, and some other diseases, which may therefore be also a cause of the hair turning grey. 32 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. CHAP. VI. ATTENTIONS NECESSARY TO THE HAIR. CAUTIOUS REMOVAL OF SCURF. HEALTH OF THE HEAD, &c. THE hair requires particular attention to keep it in order, and to produce that pleasing appearance which every one possessing any personal pride and gentility of appearance is so anxious to produce. The first and principal object is to keep the head clean ; and to re- move the scurf which forms upon the scalp by the combination of the grosser particles of the perspirable matter that is deposited upon it, with the exterior portion of the outer skin, which may very easily be removed. To prevent the accumulation of scurf, which is not only likely to prove prejudicial to health but to lay the foundation of eruptions, the hair should be re- gularly cleansed with a small-toothed comb ; and occa- sionally purified either with hair-powder, bran, or ivory powder. ^ The practice, which of late years appears to have gained ground, of washing the head with water, either warm or cold, requires considerable judgment, as from BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 33 it not unfrequently result head-ache, ear-ache, tooth- ache, and complaints of the eyes. Let the following observations of an experienced professional man ope- rate, therefore, as a caution : " Beneath the paternal roof, this operation is frequently performed by inexpe- rienced youth, from time to time, in secret; in some boarding-schools, on the contrary, every head is sub- jected to it by the regulations of the house : it is found to be a method of cleaning them equally easy and expeditious. You afterwards hear complaints that the children are afflicted with tooth-ache, and that it is often necessary to draw their teeth. Instead of seek- ing elsewhere for the cause, nothing but this act of cleanliness is in most cases to blame. Look at those children whose heads are scarcely ever dry; their pallid faces will never be enlivened by the rich colour of adolescence, and the smiles of infancy will be speedily succeeded by the wrinkles of age. It is in vain to urge that the hair is well dressed; the water that remains is always sufficient to obstruct the perspi- ration, to keep the root continually wet, and the brain in a state of constant humidity, of which obstructed perspiration furnishes an abundant source. Those as- suredly possessed great experience who transmitted to us this precept, l to wash the hands often, the feet seldom, and the head never.'" s*. When the scurf upon the external scalp is very co- pious, and it does not suffer itself to be removed by the usual means, it is a symptom of some vice in the D 34 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, humours and glands of the skin ; in this case it may be necessary to have recourse to fomentations. X For this I purpose the decoctions of the roots of briony, mallows, 0{flm or borage, in water, or in wine if they are intended to ^ be more tonic. I And particular care should be observed not to employ astringents or repellents for this purpose, such as certain plants and alum, for such fomentations, since it would be dangerous to drive back the humours of which nature strives, by this means, to divest herself. The fomentations here described ought to be seconded by a mild regimen, exercise, bathing, gentle opening medicine, and clean linen. It is advisable also to avoid extremes of heat, as well as intense cold, and to keep the head covered; precautions which will be sufficient to prevent the inconveniences arising from too violent a perspiration of the head. Next to the attentions to be paid to the cleanliness of the hair, there is a variety of diseases of the scalp which come more immediately under the treatment of the medical practitioner, such as ringworm, tetter, scalled head; all of which, cleanliness, and a good habit of body, will in a great measure prevent. After these come those which should be bestowed on the beauty of the hair : we allude here to the pomatums, ointments, and other compositions, which possess the property of keep- ing the hair in a proper state, of making it grow, and even return, after it has been entirely removed. BEAUTY, AND FASHION, 35 CHAP. VII. OF HAIR OINTMENTS, POWDERS, OILS, WATERS, &c. THERE is little question that the hair may be nourished and ameliorated by certain ointments being rubbed upon it, which accelerate its growth, and increase its beauty. But when once the hair has fallen off entirely, and especially when it is totally lost for any consider- able time, the question is, how far it is possible to make it return ? The secret, we apprehend, of restor- ing the hair under such circumstances remains still a desideratum, notwithstanding the pompous puffs with which the public press teems from day to day. We do not mean to say that the thing is impossible; indeed, it may be that experiments, sufficiently numerous and long continued, have not been made on the various substances which are reported to possess the property of making the hair come again. The ancients, it is conceived, were much wiser on this subject than we are at the present day, if one may judge from the high value which they set upon the hair, and the kind of disgrace which they attached to baldness. As regards the moderns, the ready resource of wigs saves them the trouble of making the necessary D2 36 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, researches and experiments, in order to discover a remedy for the loss of hair. It may nevertheless be rationally entertained, that a series of well-conducted experiments on this subject might lead to the discovery of some agent that might answer so desirable a pur- pose; some observation has already furnished with numerous instances of the hair having spontaneously grown again upon a head long deprived of its principal ornament. There are numerous examples of very aged people, among whom many who had completed their century, whose bald heads have been newly covered with very elegant hair. All these facts show, that such a phenomenon would be more frequent if art had dis- covered the means of assisting nature, or rather if the secret could be found out for the production of animal vegetation. The substances in most general use at the present day, and whose virtues are most highly extolled for the restoration and improvement of the hair, are, bear's grease, beef marrow, olive oil, oil of almonds both sweet and bitter ; oil of nuts, of camomile, and of laurel ; goose grease, fox grease, fresh butter, and burnt butter; bees burnt, and pounded in oil of roses ; with various other pomades and high-sounding preparations. Oleaginous substances, moderately used, certainly nourish the hair, but excess in the use of them must be avoided, since their superabundance would produce a contrary effect, and cause the hair to fall off, which not unfrequently has been the case. Some use brandy, or BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 37 honey water, to make the hair grow, which is said to be a still better specific. The juice of cresses and of onions is recommended by the school of Salernum for the same purpose. And by some, the juice of the white onion is preferred to the other kinds. Mention is also made of nettle-juice, sage, southern-wood, dell; the ashes of rats, moles, hedgehogs, and such like unseemly articles, which it is now well ascertained possess no other pro- perty than that of exciting disgust. From a variety of processes in making some compositions in high repute for making the hair grow, we extract the following, to which we annex such observations as may tend to give them the proper quantum of merit. 1. Ointment for the Hair. The editors of the " Dictionaire d? Industrie" from which the following recipe is copied, assert that they have often witnessed the most surprising effects from its use. Take an ounce of beef marrow, to which add an ounce of grease skimmed from unsalted pot liquor, and boil them together in a pipkin. Strain this mixture, and add to it an ounce of the oil of ben. Let this be used occasionally, and the hair well combed and brushed, both before and after its use, to remove the previous scurf, and to work the preparation well into the roots of the hair, and along the tubes. OBS. Beef marrow applied moderately to the hair of the head nourishes it, and communicates to it a fine gloss, 38 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, as may frequently be seen among butchers, who often apply it. Whatever therefore nourishes, strengthens. - The marrow also gives it a disposition to curl. The oil of ben has long entered into preparations for making the hair grow, and if a little of the essence of lemon, burgamot, or other perfume were added, it would, at least, improve its fragrance, and preserve it against rancidity. 2. An Oil for the Hair. The following preparation, it is said, causes the hair to grow again very rapidly. Take half a pound of southernwood, and let it be slightly pounded, boil it in a pound and a half of old olive oil, and half a pint of port wine; when these ingredients are thoroughly impregnated, take them off the fire, and strain out the liquor well through a linen cloth. Repeat the operation three times, with fresh southernwood; and this being done, add to the filtered liquor two ounces of bear's grease. OBS. The southernwood being an aromatic, may pre- serve the oil and bear's grease from becoming too soon rancid; and tlie alkaline salt which it contains may otherwise correct the too emollient properties of the oil, by partially neutralizing it. In any other respect it may not, as far as our knowledge goes, possess any advantage over similar oleaginous compositions for the hair. The same attention to cleanliness, and prevent- ing the greasy accumulations on the scalp about the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 39 roots of the hair, and to prevent the hairs themselves . from matting, and attracting dust, is necessary, as already directed. 3. Hair Water. TaJce three table-spoonsful of honey and three pugils of vine-tendrils. Pound the tendrils well, and express the juice. Mix it with the honey. With this compo- sition the part where the hair is wished to be long and thick, are directed to be washed. OBS. This composition, we apprehend, would be somewhat too clammy without the addition of some liquid for this purpose, we recommend a gill of Ja- maica rum and half a gill of water. The hair brush will be requisite after the use of the water ; not so much, however, after its immediate use as after it has been for some time impregnated with the hair. From its gentle adhesiveness, it will give the hair any form that may be wished. 4. Another Ointment. Take two ounces of bear's grease ; half an ounce of honey; six drachms of laudanum; three drachms of the powder of southernwood ; three drachms of the balsam of Peru ; one and a half drachm of the ashes of the roots of bulrushes, and a small quantity of the oil of sweet almonds. OBS. The two first ingredients we believe consti- tute the essential part of the preparation. The others 40 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, may assist in preserving the mixture from becoming rancid, and communicating to it an agreeable odour. 5. A Powder for Preserving the Hair. The following powder has the name at least of faci- litating the regeneration of the hair, and strengthening its roots. Still more valuable properties have been ascribed to it, such as that of rousing the imagination to vigorous efforts, and strengthening the memory, delightful properties, if they could be realized by such simple means ! Take an ounce and a half of red roses; a small quantity each of calamus aromaticus (sweet-scented flag) and of the long cyperus ; an ounce of benzoin ; six drachms of aloes (the wood of) ; half an ounce of red coral, and the same quantity of amber ; four ounces of bean flower, and eight ounces of the root of Floren- tine isis. Let the whole be mixed together, and re- duced to a very fine powder, to which add a few grains of musk. OBS. This powder we presume is intended to be sprinkled on the hair in the same manner as hair pow- der is generally used, and having remained for a time embedded with the hair, to be removed by means of comb and brush; and to be occasionally applied and removed. It is said to regenerate the hair, and strengthen the roots, and to possess the properties which are above enumerated. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 41 To make the Hair Grow, and Prevent it from Falling. The following recipes are selected from a work pub- lished some years ago in Paris, entitled, " Manuel Cosmetique des Plarites." 4j ' 1. Take the roots of young vines, the roots of hemp, and young cabbages, of each two handsful dry, and then burn them make afterwards a lye with the ashes : before the head is washed with this lye, it must be rubbed with honey; and continue both for three suc- cessive days. OBS, This will not only make the hair grow, but restore it upon bald places, under certain habits and constitutions of body. *** 2. Pulverise some parsley seed, and use it as hair- powder for three nights at the commencement of the year, and it will prevent your hair from falling. 3. To make the Hair grow quick.- Dip every morning the teeth of your comb in the juice of nettles, and comb the hair against the grain. Others after having shaved their heads make fomentations with wormwood, sage, betony, vervain, marjoram, myrrh, roses, dill, moss of the oak and rosemary. 42 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, 4. Take half a pound of southernwood, fresh gathered and coarsely pounded : boil a pint and a half of old oil, and half a pint of red wine take it off the fire, and let the juice of the southernwood be well expressed through a cloth into it: repeat this operation three times with a fresh quantity of the above herb at the end of each operation add to the strained juice thus mixed, two ounces of bear's grease. It forms an olea- ginous substance to make the hair grow quickly. 5. The tops of young hemp steeped twenty-four hours in water into which the comb is to be dipped previous to using it. This makes the hair grow. 6. Take six drachms of laudanum, two ounces of bear's grease, half an ounce of honey, three drachms of powdered southernwood, a drachm and a half of the ashes of the roots of bulrushes, three drachms of the balsam of Peru, and a little of the oil of sweet almonds. Make these into an ointment of a proper consistence, and use it on the hair of the head to make it grow. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 43 CHAP. VIII. DIRECTION FOR STAINING THE HAIR. THE ideas entertained relative to the beauty of the hair vary with different countries. In ancient times the most civilised and polished nations, as well as the most skilful in the arts, were passionately fond of red hair. The Gauls, the ancestors of the modern French, had the same predilection, though that colour is held in abhorrence by their descendants. They like black hair, which is despised in some regions of Africa, and light tresses, which are detested in China. A taste for red hair, however, exists still in vast regions; the Turks prefer red-haired women. The inhabitants of Tripoli have probably borrowed this taste from the Turks ; with the aid of vermilion they give their hair a colour which nature has refused. The women of the kingdom of Deccan likewise stain their hair yellow and red. Every country, indeed, manifests a particular taste for certain colours, and a decided aversion to others; it is a kind of national prejudice, which sometimes triumphs over love itself. A strange dislike has inva- 44 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, riably been manifested in this country for red hair, but with what reason or justice who will pretend to decide : that such hair is decidedly more conspicuous than any other colour is true ; but it is often seen flowing in the most splendid tresses and ringlets with admirable effect ; and again, in some individuals, particularly females, such hair, from neglect and want of taste in the proper arrangement of it, as well as from the absence of all corporeal elegance in the wearer, unquestionably pro- duces every thing but a pleasing effect : hence, red- haired men are more conspicuous than those of the opposite sex, from the latter displaying more taste in its adaptation to their person, and, in a multiplicity of instances, where the individual is divested of those freckles with which, for the most part, people of this complexion are studded, this colour of the hair is by no means so unseemly. But those females whose hair displays a colour so prejudicially proscribed by the national taste, may employ means to modify or disguise it, if they think proper. The Germans held white hair only in estimation. Those to whom nature had denied this highly valued advantage, employed all the means which art could supply to produce a resemblance to it. For this pur- pose a kind of soap, composed of goats' tallow and the ashes of beech wood, was used. This soap, which was called Hessian soap, from its being made in the country of Hesse, was also used, as Martial informs us, to stain the Germain wigs, in order to give them a BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 45 flame colour, as that author expresses it. The Roman ladies had the same predilection for this colour. Ovid says that the Peruke makers of Rome bought up all the spoils of German heads to gratify the caprice of the petites mattresses, who were determined to conceal their fine black under a light wig. Among the Romans, the men themselves were not exempted from the payment of this tribute to the pre- dominant taste for a light colour. It was the desire of giving the light colour to their hair, that induced them, as we have seen, to powder it with gold. By some, this caprice was carried to a still greater length. Julius Capitolinus informs us that the emperor Verus had such a fondness for light hair, that, in order to keep his own of that colour, he sprinkled it, from time to time, with distilled gold, that it might be of a more brilliant yellow. Many learned men have treated of the colours for staining the hair and eye-brows. And while men of learning and talent were descanting upon this topic, the fathers of the church wrote and preached against the practice : born enemies to the toilette, which does not exactly agree with the austere life which they sought to introduce, they proscribed every cosmetic falsehood. St. Cyprian, among others, lays down twelve reasons to prove that women ought not to stain their hair ; out of which the following two are selected as not unworthy of notice : " The action of staining the hair," says he, " is worse than adultery.'' The other, 46 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, equally singular with the former, is, that " to blacken the hair argues a detestation of that whiteness which belongs to the head of the lord." Let us now, how- ever, leave these far-fetched discussions of the learned, and proceed at once to the means which art affords for changing the colour of the hair. Nor can such a sub- ject be better adverted to than by recommending in the first instance the necessary caution against the use of many dangerous preparations sold by the perfumers. The first to which we shall therefore allude, is the solu- tion of silver, known under different names, such as Chinese wash, Egyptian liquid, &c. Instances have been seen where, after the use of this solution, people have been reduced to a state of frenzy. They should equally guard against compositions into which hen- bane, the morel, milk-thistle, and other venomous plants enter; as also those in which aqua-fortis or arsenic are introduced as ingredients. 1. Composition for staining the Hair Black. Take of bruised gall nuts one pound, boil them in olive oil till they become soft ; then dry them, and re- duce them to a fine powder, which is to be incorporated with equal parts of charcoal of the willow, and common salt prepared and pulverized. Add a small quantity of lemon and orange peel, dried and reduced to powder. Boil the whole in twelve pounds of water till the sedi- ment at the bottom of the vessel assumes the consist- ence of a black salve. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 47 OBS. The hair is directed to be anointed with this preparation ; covering it with a cap till dry, and then to comb it. It is represented as an excellent composi- tion for staining the hair black ; it should be used once a week, which will prevent it from afterwards turning red. It should be observed, that as fast as the hair grows, it appears in its original colour at the part nearest the skin ; in whatever way therefore the hair is stained, it is necessary from time to time to repeat the operation. 2. A Tincture for the same. ^^^L tf"'nMMVM "' '^ Boil an ounce of lead ore, and the same quantity of ebony chips, for an hour, in a quart of clean water. Wash the hair with this tincture, and dip your comb . into it before you use it. OBS. The composition turns the hair black ; but the colour is rendered more lively, brilliant, and beautiful, by the addition of two drachms of camphor. 3. Another. Boil the following for half an hour on a slow fire, namely, equal parts of vinegar, lemon juice, and pow- dered litharge. With this decoction wet the hair, and in a short time it will turn black. 4. Another. Let the head be previously washed, then dip the comb you intend to use in oil of tartar, and comb your hair 48 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, in the sun. Repeat the same three times a day for a week, and in a week the hair to which it is thus applied will turn black. To give it an agreeable scent it may be impregnated with oil of benzoin. 5. Another. Dissolve steel filings in good vinegar : with this vine- gar, which will then resemble thick oil, wash your hair as often as you think fit, and it will make it black in a very short time. 6. Another. Wash the head with the lye made of the ashes of plants in which a small quantity of alum has been dis- solved. This wash prepares the hair to receive the tint you propose to give it. Then comb it with a leaden comb dipped in any substance known to impart a black colour, such as oil of cedar mixed with liquid pitch, or myrtle oil beaten up for a considerable time in a leaden mortar. To stain Hair a light Chestnut Colour. The hair is to be previously cleaned with dry bran, or warm water, in which alum has been dissolved. Then take two ounces of quick lime, which kill in the air ; one ounce of litharge of gold, and half an ounce of lead ore. Reduce the whole to powder, and sift it. Wet a small quantity of this powder with rose water ; rub the hair with it, and let it dry again in the air, or BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 49 dry it with cloths a little warm. This powder does not stain the skin, like the wash made of aquafortis and assaying silver. OBS. It has been asserted that the hair may be stained black by impregnating it with lard, mixed with minium and lime ; but this composition, we apprehend, would produce only the chestnut colour of which we are here speaking. The hair may likewise be turned black by different vegetable substances boiled in wine, with which the head is to be washed several times a day ; but this operation ought to be continued for some time. The substances usually preferred for this pur- pose are, leaves of the mulberry, myrtle, fig, senna, raspberry, arbutus, artichoke ; the roots of the caper tree; the bark of the walnut and pomegranate; the rind of walnuts, shumac, skins of beans, gall nuts, and cones of cypress. It is also necessary to use a leaden comb. The same object may be attained by using a comb dipped in extract of lead. At Aleppo, in Turkey, some of the old men dye their beards, and the old women their hair with henna, which gives them a very whimsical appearance, and many of the men dye their beards black to conceal their age. Few of the women paint except among the Jews, and such as are of the lowest and most debased order ; but they generally black their eyebrows, or rather make artificial ones, with a certain composition which they call Hattat. The practice of late years, however, has considerably declined. 50 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The hair, heard, or whiskers, may be turned black by the following composition: Take the oil of costus and myrtle, of each an ounce ; mix them in a leaden mortar; add liquid pitch, ex- pressed juice of walnut leaves, and laudanum, of each half an ounce ; gall nuts, black lead, and frankincense, of each a drachm ; and a sufficient quantity of mucilage of gum arabic, infused in a decoction of nut-galls. The head, whiskers, and beard, after being shaved, are to be rubbed three times a day. OBS. The simple means of producing, in a certain degree, the same effects, are the following: namely, the leaves of the wild vine, which not only turn the hair black but prevent it from falling ; burnt cork, roots of the holm oak and caper tree ; barks of willow, walnut- tree, and pomegranate ; leaves of artichokes, the mul- berry tree, fig tree, raspberry bush ; shells of beans ; gall and cypress nuts; leaves of myrtle; green shells of walnuts ; ivy berries ; cockle and red-beet seeds ; poppy flowers, alum, and most preparations of lead. These ingredients,may be boiled in rain water, wine, or vine- gar, with the addition of some cephalic plants, as sage, marjoram, balm, betony, clove, July-flower, laurel, &c. &c. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 51 CHAP. IX. ON THE REMOVAL OF SUPERFLUOUS HAIR. HAIR is said to be superfluous when it becomes too thick, or when it grows on parts not essential to its appearance, as on the backs of the hands, fingers, cheek bones, the upper lip and chins of females, and other parts of the exposed surface of the skin, contrary to the desire or taste of the individual. Hair which is too thick, or descends too low upon the forehead, or grows irregularly, is a great obstacle to beauty, either by deranging the symmetry of the face, or concealing such parts as ought to be more freely exposed. Eye-brows too large, too thick, or too close to each other, also disturb the harmony which ought to pervade a hand- some face. In these and other cases, recourse is had to depilatories ; that is, substances or compositions, which possess the property of renewing hair, and the opera- tion thus effected is called depilation, a very ancient practice, and formerly not confined to the embellish- ment of the person. The Greek and Roman women had recourse to depi- latories, to a very considerable extent. The heat of E 2 52 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the climate probably caused them to adopt this prac- tice, or perhaps they consulted only the pleasure of the eye. Be this as it may, so far it is certain, that all the antique statues, and the testimony of contemporary writers, prove the existence of the custom, whatever might have been the motive for it. Neither was this free use of depilatories practised only by the women. Perseus, addressing a young debauchee, asks why he takes such care of his beard, while he bestows so much pains on removing the hair from every part of the body. There were likewise men who plucked up their beard by the root. But this was a much rarer practice than the former, and must have appeared extremely strange in an age when men universally were remarkable for the length of their beard. Accordingly the philosophers vehemently declared against this mode, which was in- troduced by some effeminate individuals, or rather which these voluptuaries attempted to introduce. The ancient practice of depilation, as it existed among the Greek and Roman women, is still prevalent among those of Turkey, who observe it in common with the men. The depilatories in general use are various, possessing different degrees of strength. The mildest are parsley water, accacia juice, and the gum of ivy. It is asserted that nut oil, with which many people rub the heads of children, prevents the hair from growing. The juice of the milk-thistle mixed with oil is recommended by Dr. Turner to remove the hair which grows too low upon BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 53 the forehead. It is also said, that the gum of the cherry tree prevents the hair from growing. The Jewish women, who esteem, and with justness, a higl} forehead free from hair as a beauty, take consider- able pains to procure this advantage for their daugh- ters. For this purpose they bind their foreheads with woollen cloth bandages, preferring scarlet to any other colour. The same eifect is produced, according to a French writer (M. de St. Ursin), by applying leaves or rags dipped in the second water of lime, or brine, or water slightly lixivial (containing the ashes of wood, or an alkali) or the decoction of grey pease. The following method, if carefully adopted, may be employed with success : Apply gently, by means of a hair pencil, a few drops of muriatic acid a little reduced at first ; and if this does not succeed, let the concen- trated form be used by delicately touching the tops of the hair to be removed, avoiding, as much as possible, the skin ; or probably the best way to apply this acid is to rub the skin and hair over at the same time, and im- mediately afterwards to rub the part with linen cloth. Depilatory of Ants' Eggs. A stronger depilatory is composed as follows : Take Gum of ivy, one ounce Ants' eggs 1 Gum arabic j> of each one drachm. Orpiment j Reduce these to a fine powder, and make it up into 54 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, a liniment, with a sufficient quantity of vinegar. In pounding the materials, great precaution must be taken that the dust of the orpiment, which is a preparation of arsenic, be not inhaled. OBS. The formic acid, or acid of ants, may be more easily procured at the chemist's, and will answer the purpose better than the ants' eggs, which are not to be had at all seasons. Depilatory of Rttsma* and Quicklime. Take rusma and quicklime, and reduce them to a fine powder ; and dissolve them for some time in water, where they will form a soft paste, which is to be applied to hair on the body intended to be removed. In a few minutes, rub the part to which it has been applied, with a wet cloth, and the hair will be removed to the very roots, whilst the part itself will sustain no inconvenience. Orpiment and Quicklime. The strongest depilatory is composed of the above substances. Considerable caution is necessary in the use of this composition. It is not without danger ; and if suffered to remain on the skin too long, it is liable to leave marks. It may be made stronger or weaker in proportion to the quantity of orpiment used. These proportions are estimated as follows : To eight ounces of quicklime, one ounce of orpiment of the first degree of strength ; to twelve ounces of quicklime, two ounces * A species of vitriol. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 55 of orpiment, of the second degree; to fifteen ounces of lime, three ounces of orpiment will present a very violent depilatory, which will produce speedy effects. OBS. These different degrees of strength must be adapted to the age and the constitution of the skin to which it is applied. After having reduced these two substances to a fine powder, mix them thoroughly toge- ther, and sift them, taking every precaution not to inhale the particles which rise from them. This powder must be kept in a stopper bottle. The following are the directions for its use : Mix with it a seventh or eighth part of barley-meal or starch, to diminish its too great strength. Pour upon the whole a sufficient quantity of warm water to form a paste, and in this condition apply it to the places from whence the hair is to be removed. Let it lie on the part a few minutes, taking care to moisten it a little that it may not too quickly dry ; and now and then try if the hair comes away easily and without resistance ; as soon as it does, wipe it off with warm water. The hair is removed with the paste, and the operation is finished. OBS. The paste must not be suffered to remain longer than necessary on the part, otherwise the skin is liable to be injured, burned, and cauterized. Roseate Powder. This is the name given to a depilatory, composed of lime twelve ounces, orpiment ten ounces ; by far too 56 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, strong, unless reduced by other ingredients in the above proportion. Another Depilatory. Take Quick-lime - - - - 1 ounce Orpiment ----- 3 drachms Orice ------ 2 drachms Saltpetre ----- 1 drachm Sulphur ----- 1 ounce Soap lees ----- half a pint, Evaporate to a proper consistence, and use as above directed. OBS. This is safer than the two preceding, though with care and caution they may all be made subservient to the purpose. Oil of Walnuts. This is said to be an excellent depilatory, but is diffi- cult to be procured. To remove Hair from the Nostrils. Take some very fine and clean wood ashes ; dilute them with a little water, and with the finger rub some of the mixture within the nostrils. The hair will be removed without causing the least pain. OBS. The hairs of the nostrils, like those of the en- trance of the ear, ought not to be removed, unless trou- blesome or unseemly; they are the principal safeguards against the intrusion of insects, which might otherwise BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 57 insinuate themselves into these delicate passages, to the great annoyance and danger of the individual thus invaded. Another Depilatory. The following directions are laid down by a French author (Manuel Cosmetique des Plants) to remove superfluous hair either from the forehead, or too long on the hack of the hands, round the wrists and arms, and in the nostrils and other parts. Take polypody of the oak, and cut and split it into small pieces. Put it into a cucurbite, pour some white wine upon it until it be covered the length of a finger, and let it digest in balneum marice for twenty-four hours ; then distil it with boiling water, until nothing more comes over into the receiver. The method of using this fluid is by dipping a linen rag in it, and then applying the same on the back of the hand, or other parts, and letting it remain there all night ; repeating the operation until the hair falls. The distilled water of the leaves and roots of cheli- dony, applied as above, has the same property. And the oil of nuts rubbed often on the head of children prevents the hair from growing. 58 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAP. X. COSMETICS. UNDER the term cosmetics, are comprehended all the expedients invented to preserve the beauty and lustre of the complexion, or to compensate for the absence of them : such, for instance, are all the processes used to embellish the skin, to soften it, to maintain its fresh- ness, to give colour to the complexion, to prevent or efface wrinkles, to whiten or clean the teeth, to stain the hair and the eye-brows ; all these form a part of the numerous class of cosmetics. Some writers have attempted to demonstrate the in- efficacy of cosmetics, as well as their dangerous ten- dency ; others have thought fit to proscribe them all ; a severe sentence has therefore been pronounced upon them. Unquestionably, many of these compositions are not only useless but dangerous ; but we should not re- nounce the aid of all, because such effects are produced by some. Let us then choose the best, and reject such as have a concealed and pernicious tendency. It has been observed by the advocates for cosmetics, that the human skin resembles a spider's web in texture, conse- BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 59 quently is susceptible of the slightest impressions; to moisten, to nourish, to polish it with cosmetic poma- tums, mucilage, detergent and bitter ointments, is per- fectly suited to its nature. Another observes that beauty cannot exist without the concurrence of the means which ensure the preservation of the health. At the same time it requires particular care; it must be improved, and I might even say, cultivated ; for this brilliant production of civilization and luxury does not appear in all its attributes and all its charms in the wild state, or under the influence of laborious profes- sions or chilling penury. Many, indeed, are the authorities that might here be adduced in favour of simple cosmetics, for one good one against them. There are frequent opportunities of observing the astonishing difference which exists between females who bestow constant and judicious care on the preservation of their beauty, and those who neglect to cultivate their charms. If a fortunate change of circumstances should enable a young female of limited means, who previously had scarcely attracted any observation, to attend to the minute details of the toilette, in a short time a new beauty may be seen to expand in her. How many rural females, with charms somewhat rustic, and figures rather coarse, have, by means of a short residence in town, and the use of the toilette, presented us with a brilliant spectacle of the most pleasing and no less astonishing metamorphosis. The change holds goods in both sexes. Manners are also 60 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, polished by example and society ; and refinement both mental and corporeal is the result. And it is to cos- metics that these corporeal prodigies are to be attri- buted. Cosmetics appear under different forms. Some are liquid, others mucilaginous, and others have vinegar for their menstruum. All cosmetics ought to be rejected with the component parts of which people are not ac- quainted. They infallibly contain mercury or some other destructive or injurious mineral. There are also cosmetics in the form of pastes and ointments. Many of these produce at first astonishing effects, but ulti- mately ruin the skin. Females should therefore abstain generally from all the cosmetics that are held out to them by empirics. Mucilaginous cosmetics possess the property of ren- dering the skin more supple, softer and more polished. They are in general the best adapted to the purpose for which they are designed, and are not attended with any inconvenience. The same cannot be asserted of vinegars ; certain astringent vinegars used at the toilette are often found pernicious. They evidently improve for a while the appearance of the skin, add brilliancy to its colour, and sometimes even remove spots; but they alter the texture of the epidermis, dry it, and pro- duce premature wrinkles. Hence they cannot be used too cautiously. Pastes are not attended with the same inconveniences. They contribute very efficaciously to preserve the suppleness and elasticity of the skin. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 61 Ointments produce a still more certain effect, in conse- quence of remaining longer in contact with the skin. They may be retained there all night; in which case they preserve the parts that are covered with them from the influence of the air, check the nature of insensible perspiration, and produce, in a far superior degree to oily cosmetics, so called, all the effects expected from the latter. But in order that ointments and liniments may pos- sess the properties requisite for producing none but good effects, " they ought," in the language of an able and experienced physician,* " to contain nothing irri- tating, and the fatty substances which form their basis, should be in a state of great purity and extreme divi- sion. Very fresh cream," he adds, " is often prefer- able to all these preparations, which, on account of the wax they contain, and their super-oxygenation, are not fit to be used by females whose skin is too dry and too irritable. Steatite is recommended by the same author, to give whiteness and lustre to the skin ; and even in some cases to protect it from contagious diseases. The steatite is reduced to a very fine powder, in which state it forms an excellent cosmetic. As regards the different cosmetics advertised and sold by perfumers, and of which the compounders make a secret, we shall say nothing more. They may possess some simple and safe detergent properties, but * M. De Senac. 62 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, until their composition be known, no opinion can be given of their utility consequently, under the veil of this mystery, they must come under the denomination of at least a doubtful gender. There is no question that many, if not all those washes which are sold at such extravagantly high and exorbitant prices, are merely new combinations of old processes : a new name being frequently sufficient to bring back an old fashion, under however a somewhat modified appearance. There are many cosmetics in high repute, such, for instance, as the GENUINE BALM OF MECCA. This is a liquid resin, of a whitish colour, approach- ing to yellow, with a strong smell, resembling that of a lemon; a pungent and aromatic taste. It is likewise called balm of Judea, white balm of Constantinople, balm of Egypt, balm of Grand Cairo, and Opobalsamum. It is one of the most highly esteemed cosmetics, though very dear, and in its genuine form extremely difficult to be procured. That sold in London and Paris is made by the perfumers of those cities: " It is," says M. Mongez,* " a mixture of the finest turpentine with aromatic oils, whose aroma approaches nearest to that of the genuine balm. These imitations sell at the rate of twenty-four to thirty shillings per ounce, whereas * See Memoirs of the National Institute. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 63 the same quantity of the real balm of Mecca cannot be procured for less than four guineas." The balm of Mecca, as already observed, in its ge- nuine state, is held in the highest repute by the ladies of the East, by whom it is used to render the skin soft, white, and smooth. They anoint their heads and face with it at night going to bed ; the following morning minute scales are detached from the skin from every part in which this precious balm has operated. This renovation of the skin renders it incomparably white and delicate. %M. The Egyptian females use it in a different manner. The dark colour of their complexion, it is true, requires a stronger dose. It is at the bath that they anoint themselves with this balm. They remain in the bath till they are very warm ; they then anoint their face and neck, not slightly, like the women of the East, but with an ample and copious ablution, rubbing them- selves till the skin has absorbed the whole. They then remain in the bath till the skin is perfectly dry; after which they remain three days with the face and neck impregnated with the balm; on the third day they again repair to the bath, and go through the same pro- cess. This operation is repeated several times, for the space of a month, during which time they abstain from wiping the skin. The European ladies who have an opportunity of procuring the genuine balm are more frugal of it. They seldom use it pure, but mix it with other similar sub- 64 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, stances, and compose a cosmetic balm which is thought to possess considerable efficacy in preserving the beauty of the skin. A good composition of this kind is the following : Take equal parts of balm of Mecca and oil of sweet almonds, recently extracted. Mix these drugs care- fully in a glass mortar till they form a kind of oint- ment ; to three drachms of which, previously put into a matrass, pour six ounces of spirits of wine. Let it distil till a sufficient tincture be extracted; when this is done, let it be separated from the oil, and put one ounce of it into eight ounces of the flower of bean- water, or other water of a similar kind, and an excellent milky cosmetic will soon be formed. OBS. Others make a kind of virgin-milk. For this purpose it is sufficient to dissolve the balm of Mecca in spirits of wine or Hungary water ; then put a few drops of this solution into Hungary water. Notwithstanding the great reputation of the balm of Mecca, it has been deemed by some as dangerous and injurious. Lady Mary Wortley Montague describes it as having agreed very ill with her. In one of her letters from Belgrade, near Constantinople, to a female friend in London, she writes as follows : " As to the balm of Mecca, I will certainly send you some ; but it is not so easily got as you suppose it, and I cannot in conscience advise you to make use of it. I know not how it comes to have such unniversal applause. All the ladies of my acquaintance at London and Vienna BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 65 have begged 'me to send pots of it to them. I have had a present of a small quantity (which I assure you is very valuable) of the best sort, and with great joy applied it to my face, expecting some wonderful effect to my advantage. The next morning, the change indeed was wonderful ; my face was swelled to a very extraordinary size, and all over as red as my lady H 's. It remained in this tormentable state three days, during which you may be sure I passed my time very ill. I believed it never would be otherwise ; and to add to my misfortune, Mr. W y reproached my adventure without ceasing. However, my face is since in statu quo ; nay, I am told by the ladies here that it is much mended by the operation, which I confess I cannot perceive in my looking-glass. Indeed, if one \vas to form an opinion of this balm from their faces, one should think very well of it. They all make use of it, and have the loveliest bloom in the world. For my part I never intend to endure the pain of it again ; let my complexion take its natural course, and decay in its own due time." < OBS. It cannot be denied, notwithstanding the in- convenience suffered by her ladyship, which might be attributable to a variety of causes, that the balm of Mecca is used with advantage by the most beautiful women, and that the Turkish ladies, who all make use of it, have, as her ladyship justly remarks, the loveliest bloom in the world. The following method has been pointed out by a 66 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, person who resided at Constantinople, to detect the spurious from the genuine balsam of Mecca. Pour a drop into water of the genuine balm; and put into this drop an iron knitting needle. If the whole of the drop of balm adhere to the needle, it proves that it has not been adulterated. VIRGIN-MILK. This appellation has frequently been given to liquids widely differing in their nature. The virgin-milk in most general use, and at the same time most salutary, is tincture of benzoin and rose-water ; which is prepared by simply adding a few drops of the former to an ounce or two of the latter, which produces a milky mixture. If the face be washed with this, it will give it a beau- tiful ivory colour. To render the skin clear and brilliant, let it remain upon it without wiping. The tincture of benzoin, vulgarly called Benjamin, is likewise recommended for the removal of spots, freckles, pimples, erysipelatous eruptions, &c., but its efficacy seems rather doubtful. In another place we shall lay down directions for more efficacious remedies. The following kinds of virgin-milk are more active in their effects : 1. Take equal parts of benzoin and storax, dissolve them in sufficient quantity of spirits of wine, which will assume a reddish colour, and emit a fragrant odour. Some add to it a small quantity of balm of Mecca. A few drops of this poured into very fine BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 67 common water, gives it a milky appearance. The ladies use it at the toilette with success for washing their faces. 1 2. Pound some house-leek in a marble mortar, ex- press the juice and clarify it. When you want to make use of it, put a small quantity into a glass, and pour upon it a few drops of spirit of wine; the mixture instantly forms a kind of curdled milk, exceedingly efficacious for rendering the skin smooth and removing pimples. 3. Take an ounce of roche-alum, and an ounce of sulphur reduced to a very fine powder, put the whole into a quart bottle, and add to it a pint of rose-water. Shake these substances for half-an-hour, which will give the water the appearance of milk. Shake the bottle every time before it is used. Steep a cloth in this liquid, and leave it all night upon the face, which must afterwards be washed with rose and plantain water. OBS. The appellation of virgin -milk is likewise applied to a very different liquid the vinegar of lead precipitated with water. This is cried up as a remedy for eruptive disorders of the skin ; but it is repellent, and of course often attended with danger. It ought, there- fore, not to be employed without the necessary precau- tions ; but as a cosmetic it should never be used, since it dries and blackens the skin. It is, nevertheless, a fact, that most of the liquids sold by perfumers under the name of virgin-milk, are nothing but an extract of . lead dissolved in vinegar. Ladies, therefore, to avoid 68 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the risk they encounter from similar preparations would study both their health, appearance, and personal con- venience much better if they were to compose this article themselves, rather than apply to either druggists or perfumers, who make at least fifteen or twenty dif- ferent sorts. COSMETIC OILS. 1 . The oil of cacao is the best and most natural of all pomades. It is well adapted to dry skins, which it renders soft and smooth, without the appearance of being greasy. It is much used by the Spanish ladies of Mexico. In France and England it cannot be used pure, because it grows too hard. It becomes neces- sary to blend it with some other oil as oil of ben, or ^ oil of sweet almonds cold drawn. 2. Oil of ben is extracted by expression from nuts of the same name. Oil of ben possesses the property of never becoming rancid ; it has neither taste nor smell ; and in consequence of this latter quality, the perfumers use it with advantage to take the scent off flowers, and to make very agreeable essences. The ladies use this oil to soften the skin. When mixed with vinegar and nitre, it is employed for curing- pimples and itching. The oil of ben, moreover, is used with success as a lenitive for burns, acrid eruptions, chapped lips, and ! sore breasts. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 69 A Compound Cosmetic Oil. Take Oil of sweet almonds - - - 4 ounces Oil of tartar per deliquium - - 2 ounces Oil of rhodium ----- 4 drops, Mix the whole together, and use it to cleanse and soften the skin. Another. Take a pint of cream, infuse it in a few water lilies, bean flowers, and roses. Simmer the whole together in a vapour bath, and keep the oil that proceeds from it in a phial, which is to be left for some time exposed to the evening dew. Oil of Wheat. This oil is extracted by an iron press, in the same manner as oil of almonds. It is excellent for chaps, either of lips or hands, tettery eruptions, and rigidity of the skin. Oil of Tuberoses and Jasmine. The essence of these and other fragrant flowers communicated to olive oil, oil of sweet almonds, or oil of ben. The oils of tuberoses or jasmine flowers are of use for the toilette on account of their fragrancy. There are cases in which they may be successfully used by way of friction, to comfort and strengthen the nerves, and brace up the skin when too much relaxed 70 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, though we apprehend, beyond their fragrance, they possess little advantage over the oils above named. Oil, or Water of Talc. High encomiums were bestowed by the ancients on a water or oil of talc, which they averred possessed the property of blanching the complexion, and ensuring to women the freshness of youth till the most advanced age. The manner in which they composed this pre- cious cosmetic has not reached us. A French author, however, has given the way of composing a liquid that may serve as a substitute for it ; and a German chemist some years ago published a method of supplying this secret possessed by the cosmetics of antiquity. "All," says he, " who have directed their attention to cos- metics, have regretted the loss of the secret of making water of talc, and have looked upon it as a discovery of the utmost importance to the Graces." " The following composition, perhaps, approaches nearest to that highly vaunted cosmetic," says the author of Abdeker, which is laid down by him as follows : Water of Talc. " Take any quantity of talc, divide it into laminae, and calcine it with yellow sulphur. Then pound it, and wash it in a great quantity of hot water. When you are sure that you have extracted all the salts by this washing, gently pour off the water, and leave the pulp at the bottom of the vessel to dry. When dry, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 71 calcine it in a furnace for two hours with a strong heat. Take a pound of this calcined talc and reduce it to powder, with two ounces of sal ammoniac. Put the whole into a glass bottle, and set it in a damp place. All the talc will spontaneously dissolve, and then you have nothing more to do than to pour off the liquor gently, taking care not to disturb it. This liquor is as clear and as bright as a pearl, and it is impossible to present the sex with a cosmetic whose effects are more astonishing. Oil of Talc. M. Justi, a German chemist, who also endeavoured to recover a secret of such importance to the fair sex, lays down the following process : Take two parts of Venetian talc, and two parts of calcined borax. After M. Justi had perfectly pulverized and reduced these substances, he put them into a crucible, which / covered with a lid, and placed in a furnace. I r 3 K- posed it for an hour to a very violent heat, and at the end of that time he found the mixture transformed into glass, of a greenish yellow colour. This glass he re- duced to powder, then mixed it with two parts of salt of tartar, and again melted the whole in a crucible. By this second fusion he obtained a mass, which he placed in a cellar, upon an inclined piece of glass, with a vessel underneath it. In a short time the whole was converted into a liquid in which the talc perfectly dissolved. 72 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The authors of the Encyclopaedic Frai^aise, say, " it is obvious that by this process you obtain a liquid of the same nature as that called oil of tartar, per detiqumm, which is nothing but fixed alkali dissolved by humidity. It is very doubtful whether the talc contributes at all to the properties of this liquid : but it is certain that fixed alkali possesses the property of making the skin per- fectly white and clear, and of taking away any spots which it may have contracted. For the rest, it seems that this liquid may be applied without any danger to the skin." Oil of Tartar. Take white- wine tartar \\ Ib. Saltpetre - - - 2 oz. Calcined tin l oz. Roche alum - - 1 oz. Pound these altogether ; put them into an earthen plate, and expose them to a reverberating fire till they are calcined. Then put an ounce of this substance, cal- cined quite white, into a pint of brandy. OBS. Though this composition has been recom- mended as a useful appendage to the toilette, and as one of the best cosmetics that can be used for giving a clear complexion, it is necessary to be careful not to use it to excess. We have already given a caution regarding the application of compositions to the skin in which metallic calces are ingredients. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 73 COSMETIC WASHES. Denmark Lotion. Take equal parts of bean-flower, and water of the four cold seeds namely, of pompion, melon, cucumber, and gourd, and of fresh cream; beat the whole, up together/- adding a sufficient quantity of milk to make a wash, which apply to the face. OBS. This recipe is taken from the " Ami des Femmes." Another writer says, that the cosmetic lotion usedjby the ladies of Denmark ^is totally different it is what is called Eau de Pigeon (pigeon-water). It is composed as follows ; " Take juice of water-lilies, of melons, of cucumbers, of lemons, each one ounce ; briony, wild succory, lily- flowers, borage, beans, of each a handful ; eight pigeons stewed. Put the whole mixture into an alembic, adding four ounces of lump sugar, well pounded, one drachm of borax, the same quantity of camphor, the crumb of three French rolls, and a pint of white wine. When the whole has remained in digestion for seventeen or eighteen days, proceed to distillation, and you will obtain pigeon-water, which is such an improvement of the complexion. OBS, It is by washing themselves with this water, we are told, that the Danish ladies, who have naturally a fine complexion, preserve all the freshness of early youth till the age of fifty. The three French rolls and the pint of wine might do alone, after this period, for 74 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the purpose of invigorating the stomach and digestive organs. Wash a la Marie Antoinette. mm Take half a dozen lemons and cut them in small slices, a small handful of the leaves of white lilies, and southernwood, and infuse them in two quarts of cow's milk, with an ounce and a half of white sugar, and an ounce of rock-alum. These are directed to be dis- tilled in balneum marise. The face, at bed-time, is to be rubbed with this water; and it is said that it gives a beautiful lustre to the complexion. It is a safe appli- cation, and its effects are certain. A Wash to give the Face a Younger look. Take Sulphur ----- 1J G. oliban and myrrh - 2 oz. Amber - - - - - 6 drachms Rose water - - - - 1| pint Distil the whole in balneum marias, wash yourself with some at bed-time, and in the morning with barley water; and, with the blessing of God, it will not fail to give you a younger look. Another. Infuse wheat bran for three or four hours in vinegar, add to it a few yolks of eggs and a grain or two of ambergris, and distil the whole. It is advisable to keep it for eight or ten days in the sun. BEAUTY, AND FASHWN. 75 Another. Take equal parts of water of wild tansy and water of house-leek, and for every half pound add two drachms f sal ammoniac. Vine Water. Preserve the drops which ooze from the vine in the months of May and June, and wash your face with them. This is a ready-made cosmetic. Rose Water. Though rose water does not possess many virtues as a cosmetic, the ladies use a good deal of it, in conse- quence of its agreeable smell, and perhaps, also, on account of its name, consecrated to the Loves and the Graces. OBS. Rose water may be obtained in a very short time, and in the easiest manner, by the following means. It is sufficient to put roses into water, and to add two or three drops of sulphuric acid. The water assumes the colour, and becomes impregnated with the aroma of the flowers. 4 Pimpernel Water. The properties of this water, for whitening the com- plexion, are highly praised. The author of the Art of Perfumery says, "it ought to be continually on the toilette of every lady." v7 Jc 76 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Strawberry Water. A name given to a liquid distilled from strawberries. When wood or wild strawberries are used for this pur- pose, the water has an exquisite smell ; and ladies have recourse to it at their toilette to remove freckles and spots on the face. Hoffman, however, prefers the dis- tilled water of the whole plant, which he regards as , more efficacious and detergent. Barley Water. An excellent cosmetic, though it can only be made in one particular season. The barley is to be gathered when the yet unformed grain resembles a milky sub- stance. These are to be pounded in a mortar with ass's milk, and the whole distilled in a sand bath. The liquid is used as a cosmetic wash. It gives extraordi- nary clearness to the skin, and is productive of no inconvenience. Water in which rice has been boiled is also used as a detergent to the skin ; and oatmeal is frequently used for the same purpose in the absence, or oftener in con- sequence of its action on the pores of the skin, in lieu of soap. OBS. Ladies of dark complexion, or sun-burnt, should frequently bathe themselves, and wash their faces with a few drops of spirits of wine, sometimes with virgin-milk, and the distilled waters of pimpernel, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 77 white tansy, bean flowers, &c. These detersive pene- trating applications remove, by degrees, the kind of tan or varnish that covers the skin, thus rendering more free the perspiration, which is the only real cosmetic. COSMETIC POMADES. Pomades or pomatums, are unctuous substances, in which are blended either medicaments or perfumes. Salves and ointments are of the former kinds; wash balls, pastes, &c. of the latter. % A Pomade for the Complexion. Take white wax and spermaceti, of each a drachm ; oil of sweet almonds, two ounces; spring water, an ounce and a half. Mix the wax and spermaceti toge- ther in the oil of almonds, in a glazed earthen pipkin, over hot ashes, or in a vapour bath ; pour the solution into a marble mortar, and stir it about with a wooden pestle till it becomes cold, and seems quite smooth; then mix the water gradually, and keep stirring till the whole be incorporated. OBS. This pomatum becomes extremely white and light by the agitation, and very much resembles cream, from its similitude to which it has obtained the name of cold cream. It is an excellent cosmetic, and renders the skin supple and smooth. . Some add a little balm of Gilead to heighten its virtue ; and it is sometimes scented by adding rose or orange flower water in the prepara- tion, instead of spring water ; or with a few drops of 78 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, of any essence as fancy may direct. It is also very good to remove marks in the face from small-pox in which case a little powdered saffron, or some other dessuative, as flowers of zinc or French chalk, is usually added. It is to be kept for use in a large gallipot tied over with a bladder. A Pomatum to remove Redness, or Pimples in the Face. Steep in clear water a pound of boar's cheek till it becomes tolerably white ; drain it quite dry, and put it into a new glazed earthen pan with two or three hard pippins, quartered ; an ounce and a half of the four cold seeds, bruised, and a slice of veal about the size of the palm of your hand. Boil the whole together in a vapour bath for four hours, then with a strong cloth squeeze out your pomatum into an earthen dish, placed upon hot ashes ; add to it an ounce of white bees' wax and an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, stir it with a wooden spatula till it becomes cold. For Wrinkles. . Take pieces of white lily roots and fine honey, of each two ounces ; melted white wax, an ounce ; incorporate the whole together, and make a pomatum. It should be applied every night, and not wiped off till the next morning. Another. Take half an ounce of salad oil, an ounce of the oil of tartar ; half an ounce of the mucilage of quince BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 79 seeds; three quarters of an ounce of ceruss; thirty grains of borax, and the same quantity of sal gem. Stir the whole together for some time, in a little earthen dish, with a wooden spatula, and apply it in the same manner as in the preceding composition. For a Red or Pimpled Face. Take two pared apples, celery and fennel, of each a handful; and barley meal a quarter of an ounce. Simmer the whole together a quarter of an hour in a gill of rose water ; then add an ounce of fine barley meal, the whites of four new laid eggs, and an ounce of deer's suet. Strain them through a canvass bag into a dish that contains a little rose water, and afterwards beat it in a mortar perfectly smooth. This pomatum is to be applied frequently through the day, to remove the redness of the face, pimples and even freckles; but to answer the last-mentioned pur- pose, it must be continued till they are entirely effaced. To prevent their return, the person must shun the intense heat of the sun, and hot dry winds for some time. OBSERVATIONS ON COSMETICS. Instances are not wanting, of yvung persons attempt- ing to bleach their skins, and beautify their persons, by avoiding the open air, using a mild and weakening diet, or even abstinence from food, sleeping too long, warm- 80 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, ing their beds, and other such-like contrivances. But alas ! the event does not answer their expectations they lose hoth health and bloom! Eating chalk, drinking vinegar, wearing camphorated charms, and similar destructive means have been resorted to, by other more daring adventurers, but with no better success. Those last enumerated have been termed " minor cosmetics :" others of a more formidable na- ture, we almost hesitate to mention, as they are un- questionably the most deleterious substances with which we are acquainted. Mercury and lead manufactured in various forms, are, unhappily, ingredients too common in many of our modern cosmetics, whether they consist of lotions, creams, powders, paints, or ointments. That these deleterious substances can be commu- nicated to the circulating fluids, through the skin as well by the stomach requires, we should suppose, no further proof after the doctrine of cutaneous absorption is understood, than which nothing is more simple. Lead, if once introduced into the system, though in the smallest proportions, cannot be removed by oil, and never fails to produce the most deplorable effects such as palsy, contraction and convulsion of the limbs, total lameness, weakness, and the most excruciating colics. Besides these more obvious effects, the frequent external use of lead and mercury in cosmetics, occasions cramps in every part of the body, faintings, nervous weakness, catarrhs, tubercles in the lungs and intestines, which BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 81 occur either separately or together, according to the different circumstances, till at length a consumption, either pulmonary or hectic, closes the dreadful scene. " The secret venom, circling in her veins, Works through her skin, and bursts in bloating stains j Her cheeks their freshness lose, and wonted grace, And an unusual paleness spreads her face." GRANVILLE. Beauty of complexion, the subject at present under consideration,' is but another term for a sound and healthy skin; a pure mirror of the harmony of the internal parts with their surface, or, if we may be allowed the expression, " it is visible health." . There subsists so intimate a relation between our interior and exterior vessels, that almost every error or irregularity in the organ within, shows itself first on the surface of the body, particularly on the face. How often are we struck with the countenance of a person, who thinks himself in perfect health, but whose illness the result of some morbid cause concealed in the body, justifies in a few days the serious apprehensions enter- tained at our last interview. Nature has wisely ordained, that the first appearance of internal irregularities should be indicated by the countenance ; but to what use do we generally apply this index ? We refuse to avail ourselves of the benefi- cent intimation ; and the continued use of pernicious substances, instead of promoting the object we have in 82 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, view, ultimately tarnishes and impairs that beauty which we meant to adorn and preserve. We imagine it in our power to improve the skin, without attending to the purity of the fluids, though it is indebted to them for its very existence ; and yet we should smile at a person who attempted to cleanse an impure tongue by constantly scraping it, when a disordered stomach was the real cause of that impurity. From what has already been remarked we rely for indulgence, when we venture to pronounce every cosmetic, the composition of which is kept a secret from the public, to be false and fraudulent, and that mercury, or lead, are their leading ingredients. To such of our readers, male or female, who are determined to make use of cosmetics, instead of attend- ing to the more effectual means of preserving the bloom of the skin, it may be of service to add one or two more external applications, in order to prevent them from using the dangerous and destructive preparations of quacks and nostrum-mongers. According to the late Dr. Withering, an infusion of horse-radish in milk, makes one of the safest and best cosmetics. Another preparation for cleansing the skin of pimples, and recent eruptions, if assisted by gentle aperient medicines, is the first juice of house-leek, mixed with an equal quantity of sweet milk or cream. All contrivances, however, to answer this purpose, are absurd and nugatory, if the inward state of the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 83 body be neglected, or if they be looked upon as specifics themselves. Such things do not exist in nature ; and as well might one try to bleach a blackamoor as to remove any scorbutic or other eruptions from the face, without bestowing proper attention to the whole state of the body, and particularly the fluids, whence these irregularities derive their origin. The three great and really effectual substitutes in cosmetics which we would recommend, are the fol- lowing : First. Proper attention to the insensible perspiration an important process by which nature, if duly as- sisted, will not fail to expel all acrimonious and useless particles. By this, too, the surface of the body will be kept in a constant atmosphere of softening exhalations a species of volatile vapour-bath, which is the most efficacious means 'of preserving it soft and pliant, and of animating it with the colour of life. Secondly. The purity of the fluids : This depends equally on a free perspiration and a vigorous state of digestion.* * The most effectual means of restoring the tone of the digestive organs, and recruiting the muscular fibre and the nervous energy in general is, the " Imperial Marine Tincture" and " pills." Prepared by Dr. Stevenson, and sold by the principal patent medicine vendors in Europe. The instruc- tions which accompany these medicines, render them a con- venient resource to families both by sea and land. Medical Review. G 2 84 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Thirdly. The third requisite to a fair and beautiful complexion, is an uniform distribution of the fluids, or in other words, a free and unrestrained circulation of the blood; as the very purest fluids, when profusely propelled to the face, are productive of disagreeable consequences, such as unnatural redness, flushings, tumid appearances, &c., of which ladies, who lead a sedentary life, are so apt to complain. CHAP. XI. INJUNCTIONS RELATIVE TO THE REFINEMENT OF THE SKIN. To the preceding general observations, it may be useful to subjoin a few particular injunctions, relative to the purification of the skin, as connected with a state of good health. 1. Abstain from the too frequent and too copious use of heating liquors of every kind, particularly punch and strong wines. There is scarcely any thing more destructive to the bloom of youth and manhood than these liquids, which fill the blood with inflammable particles, propel it towards the face, parch the skin, render it spotted, and lay the foundation of that in- curable disease, which is sometimes figuratively called, copper in the face. Neither sugar, nor any additional ingredient to gratify the palate, can deprive these liquors of their noxious qualities, insomuch that even BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 85 the most agreeable and seductive liquid is attended with considerable danger. ^ 2. Avoid likewise the excessive use of hot drinks, such as coffee, chocolate, and tea, particularly the last, in which the inhabitants of this country indulge more than in any other beverage. I The too liberal use of this liquid is not a little prejudicial to the purity and fairness of the skin. >Tea taken immoderately and hot, not only has a tendency to weaken the organs of digestion, but causes fluctuations and congestions in the humours of the face, and frequently brings on a degree of debilitating perspiration. ,^ t 3. The various compositions prepared by the pastry cook and confectioner, are scarcely of less importance than the former, t These dainties would be less objec- tionable, if any method could be devised to bake them without the pernicious ingredients of yeast and fat, substances which load the stomach with glutinous slime and rancid matter, which obstruct the glands of the abdomen, particularly those of the mesentery, and have a strong tendency to produce the cutaneous eruptions already mentioned. Pomatum for the Skin. Take oil of white poppy seed, and of the fine cold seeds, each a gill; spermaceti three quarters of an ounce ; white wax, an ounce : mix them, secundum artem, into a pomatum. OBS. A great quantity of a substance resembling THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, butter is extracted from the cocoa-tree, which is ex- cellent to mollify and nourish the skin, and has long been used for this purpose amongst the Spanish creo- lean women. The warm bath, or warm local ablution is always to be observed, after the use of unctuous substances. LIP-SALVES. Take oil of almonds, 3 ounces ; spermaceti, 1 ounce ; virgin rice, ounce. Melt these together over a slow fire, mixing with them a little of the powder of alkanet root. Keep stirring till cold, and then add a few drops of the oil of rhodium. OBS. Fresh butter may be used instead of the oil of sweet almonds. The alkanet root will colour it red. Yellow bees-wax added, will give it a yellow colour. Another. Take prepared tutty and oil of eggs, of each equal parts ; mix, and apply them to the lips, after washing the latter with barley or plantain water. A Yellow Lip-Salve. Take yellow bees-wax, two ounces and a half; oil of sweet almonds, a quarter of a pint ; melt the wax in the oil, and let the mixture stand till it become cold, when it acquires a pretty stiff consistence. Scrape it into a marble mortar, and rub it with a wooden pestle to render it perfectly smooth. Keep it for use in a gallipot closely covered. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 87 OBS. This is emollient and lenient ; of course good for chaps in the lips^ hands, or nipples ; and preserves the skin soft and smooth. A Scarlet Lip-Salve. Take an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, cold drawn; a drachm of fresh mutton suet; and a little bruised alkanet root; and simmer the whole together in an earthen pipkin. Instead of the oil of sweet almonds, you may use oil of jasmin, or oil of any other flower, if you intend the lip-salve to have a fragrant odour. Another. Take a pound of fresh butter ; a quarter of a pound of bees-wax; four or five ounces of cleansed black grapes, and about an ounce of bruised alkanet root. Simmer them together over a slow fire till the wax is wholly dissolved, and the mixture becomes of a bright red colour : strain and put it by for use. OBS. The cosmetics hitherto fashionable have all been directed to the surface without any reference to the interior ; though it must be evident, however pow- erful their effects may be for a time, that they will at least be but temporary and evanescent, and their appli- cation must be renewed almost as often as washing, at the risk, sometimes, too, of doing great injury, and giving rise to dangerous disorders. To obviate this inconvenience, it is proposed, therefore, that instead of 88 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, repelling from the skin inwards, to expel without the skin whatever may tend to disorder or discolour it. With this intention the following has been, in some cases, tried with success ; and we recommend to our fair readers a trial of it, in conjunction with their cos- metic creams and other preparations. Take tincture of cardamoms, 1 drachm; wine of ipecacuanha, 15 drops; flower of sulphur, drachm. Add these to half a glass of sherry or Cape wine (ginger or elder wine will do), and take it going to bed. To be repeated two or three times a week, for a week or two, according to circumstances. CHAP. XII. PAINTS FOR THE FACE, ETC. PAINTS* must not be confounded with cosmetics, which really impart whiteness, freshness, suppleness, and brilliancy to the skin, when it is naturally different * The art of painting the skin is nearly as ancient as the world ; and it has been found among all the nations of the world. By the first inhabitants of the earth this invention was deemed so wonderful, that they could not suppose it to be the production of the human mind, and gave it a celestial origin. They ascribed it to superior intelligence ; and the author of the book of Enoch assures us that, before the deluge, the angel Azaliel taught women the art of painting themselves. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 89 to those qualities ; consequently they only assist na- ture, and make amends for her defects ; and it may be affirmed they are to beauty what medicine is to health. Paints are far from answering this description. They are not only incapable of embellishing the skin, but those who make use of them are extremely fortunate when they do not contribute to increase its defects. They cannot give the skin so desired qualities, they only imitate it in a manner more or less coarse. Paints, although they are incapable of repairing the ravages of time, are nevertheless used, for various rea- sons. In the first place, they are sooner and more easily applied; because they produce a higher and more brilliant and speedy effect; and in the next, because, in cases where cosmetics would be of no use ; for instance, in persons too plain or too old, paints afford a convenient resource, a last and only medium of disguising either defects of the complexion or the ra- vages of time. But when a person is young, fresh and handsome, to paint would be perfectly ridiculous; it would be wantonly spoiling the fairest gifts of nature. Red and white being the only paints used on the skin, we shah 1 here briefly treat of them. If ever paint were to be prescribed, we should plead for an exception in favour of rouge, which may be rendered extremely innocent, and be applied with such art as to give an expression to the countenance, which it would not have without that auxiliary. White paint is never becoming ; rouge, on the contrary, almost always looks well. 90 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, 1. OF WHITE PAINT. White paints are extracted from minerals more or less pernicious, but always corrosive. Mineral paints affect the eyes, change the texture of the skin, pro- ducing pimples. Paint also causes rheums, attacks the teeth, makes them ache, destroys the enamel, and loosens them. It heats the mouth and throat, infect- ing and corrupting the saliva. Lastly, it penetrates through the pores of the skin, acting by degrees on the cellular substance of the lungs, and inducing pulmonary complaints. Or, in other cases, if the paint be com- posed of aluminous or calcareous substances, it stops the pores of the skin which it tarnishes, and prevents perspiration, which, as a matter of course, is directed to some other part, to the danger of the individual. Metallic paints are extracted from either lead, tin, or bismuth. To the inconveniences already noticed, these paints add that of turning the skin black when it is exposed to the action of sulphureous or phosphoric exhalations. Accordingly those females who use them ought carefully to avoid going too near substances in a state of putrefaction, the vapours of sulphur and lime of sulphur, and the exhalations of bruised garlic. We shall here merely subjoin the process for making a cheap white paint, which, if not wholly free from in- convenience, is not, however, accompanied with those dangers which always attend the use of whites pre- pared from bismuth, lead, or tin. * BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 91 To make a White Paint for the Complexion. Take a piece of Briancon chalk. Choose it of a pearl grey colour, and rasp it gently with a piece of dog- skin. After this, sift it through a sieve of very fine silk, and put it into a pint of good distilled vinegar, and leave it there for fourteen days, shaking the bottle two or three times each day, with the exception of the last, on which it must not be disturbed. Having stood the requisite time, pour off the vinegar, so as to leave the chalk behind in the bottle, into which pour very clean water that has been filtered. Throw the whole into a clean pan, and stir the water well with a wooden spatula. Let the powder settle again to the bottom, pour the water gently off, and wash this powder six or seven times, taking care always to make use of filtered water. When the powder is as white and as soft as you would wish, dry it in a place where it is not exposed^ to the dust. Sift it through a silken sieve, which will make it still finer. It may either be left in powder, or wetted and formed into cakes like those sold by the perfumers. One pint of vinegar is sufficient to dissolve a pound of talc, that is, of Brianon chalk. OBS. This white may be used in the same man- ner as carmine, by dipping the finger, or a piece of paper, or what is preferable to either, a hare's foot prepared for the purpose, in ointment, and putting upon it about a grain of this powder, which will not be re- moved even by perspiration. If the ointment with 92 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, which it is applied be properly prepared, this white does no injury to the skin of the face. The same ingredients may be used in making rouge. Another White. To one part of Venice talc, in powder, add two parts of the oil of camphor; let them digest in a sand-bath till the whole becomes very white. Salve which may be used as Paint. Take four ounces of very white wax, five ounces of oil of bitter almonds, one ounce of very pure spermaceti, one ounce and a half of white lead washed in rose- water, and half an ounce of camphor. Mix the whole up into a salve, which may be pre- ferred to all other whites. 2. OF RED PAINT.* It would be well were those ladies whose taste may lead them to relieve the deficiency of their complexion * Almost all nations have had a predilection in favour of the colour red. The Phoenicians owed their name to the red colour of their ships, and of the stuffs they conveyed to the barbarous nations inhabiting the coasts of the Mediter- ranean. The ancients at festivals, painted Jupiter with vermilion. At Rome, the bodies of triumphant warriors were painted with the same colour ; and Camillus, among the rest, is mentioned as having made his appearance in it on the day of his triumph. Lord Macartney, in his passage through Pekin, saw several Tartar women who, he says, where excessively painted, especially about the middle of the lower lip ; and several tribes of Indians and Africans evince considerable partiality for red. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 93 by means of rouge, were they to compose the articles themselves. They would not then run the risk of using those dangerous reds in which deleterious mi- nerals are ingredients, of spoiling the skin, and of exposing themselves to the inconveniences which we have alluded to, as liable to result from the use of metallic paints. The more dangerous reds are those compounded with minium, which is a calx of lead, or cinnabar, otherwise called vermilion, produced by sulphur and mercury. Vegetable red therefore should alone be used, These are attended with little danger, especially when used with moderation. The vegetable substances which furnish rouge, are red saunders wood, root of orchanet, cochineal, Brazil wood, and especially the bastard saffron, which yields a very beautiful colour, that is, mixed with a sufficient quantity of French chalk or talc. Some perfumers compose vegetable rouges for which they take vinegar as the excipient. These reds are liable to injure the beauty of the skin. It is more advisable to compound them with oleaginous or unctuous substances, and to form salves. For this purpose, balm of Mecca, butter of cacao, oil of ben, &c. may, for instance, be em- ployed. There are females whose skin cannot be reconciled to unctuous bodies; such, therefore, may use the following : 1. Take Brian 9an chalk, and reduce it to a very fine 94 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, powder add to it carmine in proportion to the vivid- ness of the red which you intend to produce ; and care- fully triturate this mixture, which may be applied to the skin without danger ; or 2. Take French chalk prepared, four ounces ; oil of almonds, two drachms ; carmine, one ounce. OBS. The makers of rouge, from motives of eco- nomy, sometimes substitute cinnabar for carmine. It may be ascertained if carmine be genuine, as in this case it is not altered either by the mixture of oxalid acid, or volatile alkali. The rouge of which we have just given the composition, may likewise be made up with salves ; it then produces a superior effect, being a better imitation of the natural colours. 3. A liquid rouge to produce a perfect imitation of the colours of nature may be made as follows : Add to a pint of French brandy, half an ounce of benzoin, an ounce of red sandal wood, half an ounce of Brazil wood and the same quantity of rock alum. Cork the bottle with care, shake it well once a day, and at the end of twelve days it will be fit for use. The cheeks are to be lightly touched with it. 4. Take Brazil-wood and rock alum ; pound and add them to a bottle of red wine, and boil it till it is reduced to one fourth part. To use this, dip a piece of cotton wool into it, and rub the cheeks. 5. Take half an ounce of red sandal wood, half an ounce of cloves, and five pounds of sweet almonds. Pound the whole together. Upon this paste pour two BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 95 ounces of white wine, and an ounce and a half of rose- water. Let the whole be stirred up well together. In about eight or nine days, strain this paste in the same manner as is done to extract the oil of sweet almonds, and a very good red oil will be obtained. 6. Alkanet root strikes a beautiful red when mixed with oils or pomatums. A scarlet or rose-coloured rib- bon, wetted with water or brandy, gives the cheeks if rubbed with it, a beautiful bloom, that can scarcely be distinguished from the natural colour. Others only use a red sponge, which tinges the cheeks of a fine carnation colour. Turkish method of preparing Carmine. Infuse during three or four days, in a large jar filled with white wine vinegar, a pound of Brazil-wood, shavings of Femambucca, having first beaten them to a coarse powder: boil them afterwards for half an hour ; then strain off the liquor through a coarse linen cloth, set it again upon the fire, and, having dissolved half a pound of alum in white wine vinegar, mix both liquors together, and stir the mixture well with a spa- tula. The scum that rises is the carmine : skim it off carefully, and dry it for use. OBS. Carmine may also be made with cochineal, or red sanders, instead of Brazil wood. A Secret to Efface Wrinkles. Throw on a red-hot iron shovel some powdered 90 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, myrrh, and receive the smoke on the face, covering the head with a handkerchief to prevent the fumes from being dissipated. Let the operation be repeated three times, then heat the shovel again, and when red hot, as before, pour on it a mouthful of white wine, and hold your face over the smoke arising from it, three suc- cessive times. Continue this practice every night and morning, as long as you see occasion. THE MONTPELLIER TOILETTE. Take for this purpose a new light- woven linen cloth, and cut it of a proper size to make a toilette. Wash the cloth perfectly clean in different waters; then spread it out to dry, and afterwards steep it twenty-four hours in sweet-scented water namely, half angelic and half rose water. On removing the cloth out of the water, gently squeeze it, and hang it up to dry in the open air. Then lay on it the following composition Take Orange flowers, dried - - - - pound. Roots of elecampane - - - - i pound. Florentine orris i pound. Yellow sanders --- -- 4 ounces. Residuum of angelic water - 2 ounces. Rose wood and sweet flag, each 1 ounce. Gum laudanum -- - A ounce. Calamus aromaticus - - - - \ ounce. Cloves ounce. Cinnamon 2 drachms. Beat all these ingredients into powder, and make them BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 97 into a paste with mucilage of gum tragacanth, dissolved in angelic water. With this paste rub your toilette cloth hard on both sides, leaving on it the little bits that may adhere, because they render the surface more smooth. Afterwards hang up the cloth, and when half dry, again rub both sides with a sponge wetted with angelic water, to render the cloth still more smooth ; after which dry it thoroughly and fold it up. This cloth is generally lined with taffety, and covered with satin, and is now enclosed with more than two pieces of some kind of thin silk. . CHAP. XIII. THE MOUTH AND BREATH. OVID'S directions for the management of the mouth and face is a piece of sterling advice, which our female readers in particular cannot too much appreciate : we .ake no apology therefore for extracting it : " Let not the nymph with laughter much abound, Whose teeth are black, uneven, or unsound ! You'd hardly think how much on this depends, And how a laugh or spoils the face or mends : Gape not too wide, lest you disclose your gums, And lose the dimple which the cheek becomes ; Nor let your sides too strong concussions shake, Lest you the softness of the sex forsake. H 98 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, In some, distortions quite the face disguise ; Another laughs that you would think she cries ; In one, too hoarse a voice we hear betrayed ; Another is as harsh as if she brayed." The half smile is said to indicate innocence and virtue; and the smile inspires love and friendship. The laugh, in its turn, expresses lively joy and undis- sembled mirth. /, The laugh, however, is far from having in females the grace of the smile: when carried to excess it becomes ridiculous, and is converted into a frightful grimace. If it is habitual, it in time totally alters the face, imprints wrinkles upon it, distorts all the features, and entirely destroys all its beauty. Of this truth Ovid was thoroughly convinced when he gave the above advice. The purity of the breath is another advantage that cannot be too much prized; the contrary defect is the most unfortunate circumstance that can befal beauty, or conjugal felicity, in any station in life, and is alone sufficient to annihilate, in an instant, the most perfect and otherwise inviting charms. In order to preserve the beauty of the teeth, and the purity of the breath, the Arabs accustom themselves and are continually chewing mastic,, the Turks sa/ckes, and the Persians konderuum. A foetid breath may be the consequence of various causes : 1 . From diseased lungs ; 2. Smoking tobacco ; BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 99 3. Excessive drinking of malt and spirituous liquors ; 4. The state of the stomach and organs of digestion ; 5. Neglect of the teeth and mouth ; 6. The abuse of mercury; 7. Scorbutic taint in the blood. When the strong smell of the breath proceeds from diseased lungs, riding on horse-back, fresh air, and the use of gargles of myrrh, or of the infusion of oak- bark, with proper attention to the state of the bowels, may palliate the affection, and ultimately remove not too deeply seated. If from smoking tobacco and excessive drinking, which always derange the digestive organs, the cause must be removed before the effect can cease ; but clean- liness, and attention to the state of the mouth and teeth, morning and night, may remove the inconvenience so far as to render it tolerable. Tonic gargles, charcoal, and Peruvian bark, or myrrh, for a tooth-powder ; and chewing occasionally a little mastic will do this. If from the abuse of mercury, the blood must be purified by a decoction of the woods and a course of alterative medicine, in conjunction with the gargles and tooth-powders above recommended. Charcoal pas- tilles correct the breath ; they are made in the manner of lozenges ; and a few drops of pyroligneous acid will correct, for the time being, the most offensive odour of the breath. Besides the causes above enumerated, various parti- cular ones may, either singly or combined with the H 2 100 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, former, contribute to the fcetor of the breath. This disagreeable quality is frequently the consequences of repeated watching, of excessive fatigue, immoderate pleasures or amusements. When the vitiated smell of the breath proceeds from an incurable evil, the person so affected is reduced to the sad necessity of removing this smell by others of a different kind. For this pur- pose cashoo is recommended, to which, as it combines with many other odoriferous substances, any smell may be given that is preferred by the individual. There are many forms prescribed for sweetening the breath : we shall here select a few, that our readers may have a resource at all times to fly to, from what- ever cause they may be temporarily or permanently tainted. A fragrant Quid. Take gum fragaranth and cashoo, enough of each to make a ball about the size of a filbert; scent it with Cologne water, oil of bergamot, ambergris, or any other agreeable perfume. Keep a quid made in this manner always in your mouth, when you want your breath sweet ; or, you may chew occasionally a bit of the root of Florentine iris, or gum mastic; or wash the mouth frequently, as already observed, with the tincture of myrrh : or, at night going to bed, chew a piece of fine myrrh, about the size of a small nut : or every night and morning, a clove ; or about the size of a small bean of burnt alum ; or, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 101 Take Good old port - - 1 pint Best red bark - - J ounce White wine - - 2 pint Cloves, bruised, No 3 Let them stand for a week. Take a wine glassful going to bed. This is also an excellent remedy for loose, spongy, andvscorbutic gums, decayed teeth, &c. Water, in which charcoal has lain for some time, filtered, a wine glass morning, noon, and night, is an excellent and simple fluid for a foetid breath: any agreeable aromatic, as tincture of myrrh, half a drachm ; tincture of Peruvian bark ; of aloes, &c. the same. Attention to the state of the bowels is an indispens- able requisite where the breath is tainted, from whatever cause. Some mild saline aperient for choleric tempera- ment, and some warm opening pill, as the pill cochia, or colocynth with calomel, will answer best for the phlegmatic, at the same time it will answer as well for the choleric, if the bowels be not easily moved. Take Extract colocynth, C. - half a drachm Oil of mint - - - - 3 drops Submuriate of quicksilver, 10 grains Syrup of buckthorn - 9 scruples Make ten pills, and take one morning and evening till they produce the desired effect. 102 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAP. XIV. THE LIPS. THE lips are liable to excoriations and chaps, which often extend to a considerable depth. These chaps are occasioned by severe cold : almost any kind of unctuous substance may be applied as an emollient remedy. There are different sorts of salve for the lips. See page 86. CHAP. XV. THE TEETH AND GUMS. " He who pays no attention to the teeth, by this single neglect betrays vulgar sentiment." LAVATER. THE teeth are bones protruding from the upper and lower jaws, amply supplied with nerves and blood vessels, and covered with a fine enamel, more or less dense in different persons. When this enamel is destroyed, either by external or internal causes, the tooth cannot long remain sound, and requires to be cautiously treated, if there be a wish to have it preserved ; since more teeth are injured and destroyed by ignorant and BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 103 improper cleaning, than by all the other causes of tooth- ache and rotting put together. Cleanliness, and fortifying the teeth and gums, are the fittest means of preserving them ; tooth-picks, tooth- brushes, dentifrices, and scaling them, are so indiscri- minately used, that no little attention is requisite in right ordering these necessary processes. It is well known that savages have uniformly white teeth, and they have no absurd artifices for keeping them in that condition. Metal tooth-picks, let them even be of gold or silver, injure the enamel more or less, and the hard bristly tooth-bmshes and dentifrices act upon this nicely polished surface with equal injury, if not judiciously selected and applied. And if once the smallest portion of the er.amel of a tooth is destroyed, it never is re- stored, consequently the tooth decays, and ultimately breaks down upon the gums. The best tooth-pick is a quill bluntly pointed, and even this requires judicious management: rinsing the mouth with warm water is the best cleanser of the enamel, vhere incrustations are not formed. Cleanliness of the teeth is to the eye what purity of breath is to the sense of smelling. Nothing, indeed, is more pleasing than clean white teeth, and gums of the colour of the rose ; nothing more disagreeable than dirty black teeth, thickly encrusted with tartar, a sight alone sufficient to excite disgust; the most beautiful face anl vermilion lips being repulsive, if the latter, when they open, exhibit the slovenly spectacle of neg- 104 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, lected teeth. It was, therefore, a just observation of Lavater, that the mere sight of the teeth is capable of giving us a perfect insight into the character of a per- son, and that foul teeth announce vulgar sentiments. The desire to please is not the only motive that ought to induce people to pay the greatest attention to their teeth, both as regards cleanliness and preservation. Health depends, in a great measure, on good, sound, and clean teeth good, in order to the perfect mastica- tion of food ; souifd, that they may not impregnate the alimentary substances with a vitiated and unwholesome juice. The good condition of the teeth is absolutely neces- sary for the formation of the voice, and the articulation of words. Vacancies, more or less considerable, are always injurious to the plainness of pronunciation, and the harmony of speech ; in fine, Cicero compared the teeth with the strings of an instrument which modify the sound. The interest of beauty, alove every other, imperiously enjoins the preservation of the teeth. The teeth have not only their particular beauty, resulting from their regularity, form, and whiteness, but they also necessarily contribute to the general beauty of the figure. When they are gone, the lips and cheeks, deprived of that natural support which they received from them, fall in, and exhibit the not very pleasing image of premature old age. How many reasons thus combine to induce the fair sex in particu- lar, to bestow the greatest care on the preservation of these valuable organs ! BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 105 The beauty of the teeth particularly consists in their position, their arrangement, their regularity, their cleanliness, and their whiteness. These condi- tions of the teeth are essential to beauty. Art cannot, in this case, furnish a remedy for the defects of nature; it presents resources, which every woman jealous of of her charms ought not to neglect. But these means are not within the range of cosmetics ; recourse must be had to the hand and instrument of a skilful dentist, which renders it unnecessary to say much more on this subject. The cleanliness and whiteness of the teeth, and the means of attaining this state of perfection, falling more particularly within the range of our views, we shall here devote some considerations to this desi- deratum. Attention to the cleanliness of the mouth is the first step towards preserving the teeth in a sound state, and preventing that dreadful scourge the tooth ache. For this purpose, it is only necessary to wash the teeth daily with luke-warm water, or with salt and" water. Hot water ought never to be used with this ingredient. White teeth being a particular object of ambition with females, a number of useless recipes have been invented for this purpose. Many, indeed, of these recipes are extremely pernicious, inasmuch as they will gradually destroy the enamel which more especially contributes to the solidity of the teeth. Among these dangerous nostrums may be reckoned, in the first place, those dentifrices, electuaries, and opiates which contain cor- 106 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, rosive powders, such as emery, pumice stone, and others. Such articles wear the enamel by friction. In the next class may be ranged those tinctures, spirits, and elixirs which contain a mineral acid, and which chemically effect the destruction of the enamel. CHAP. XVI. MOUTH, TONGUE, THROAT, TEETH, AND GUMS. THE mouth and tongue require particular care. The former should be rinsed every morning, after dinner, and the last thing at night, with cold water ; but in the winter the chill may be taken off it. The frequent washing of the mouth is otherwise necessary, because the viscid slime, and small particles of food which settle about the interstices of the teeth, are very apt to putriiy, and if not removed, will affect the breath, and gradually injure the teeth themselves. Besides, this slime settles on the tongue, covers the papillae or little eminences which are the organs of taste, and renders the palate less sensible. \ The tongue ought no less 'to be cleansed every morning, either with a small piece of whale-bone, or with a sage leaf, which is also useful for polishing the teeth. |To~cTear the throat it should BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 107 be gargled with fresh water, and a mouthful of the same Huid swallowed every morning _f astjng^ the latter practice must not, however, be attempted too hastily, but when once accustomed to it, it will be attended with advantage. \ Acids in general possess the property of making the teeth white, in the same manner as aqua-fortis does coloured marble, namely, by destroying its polish and solidity. An experiment, which any one may repeat, proves that the teeth grow soft sooner or later in acid liquors, and that the earthy and calcareous part which constitutes their solidity, appears at the bottom of the vessel, under the form of a sediment. Vinegar is not the only acid that injures the teeth by making them white for a short time; all acid sub- stances which set them an edge, such as sorel, lemon, cream of tartar, and especially mineral acids, in what- ever form they are employed, produce the same effect. The teeth are liable to lose their whiteness by the influence of various causes for instance, they become encrusted with tartareous matter, and are tarnished either by the actions of certain elements, or by the exhalations of the stomach. When the loss of white- ness is occasioned by the production of tartar, a coral stick may be used to clean the teeth, and to remove the tartareous salt. The blackness of the teeth may be corrected by the following process : pulverize equal parts of tartar and salt, and having washed your teeth fasting, rub them with this powder. 108 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The preservation of the teeth depends not only on the particular pains necessary to be taken with them, but also on the regimen best adapted to health. The teeth do not long continue sound with bad digestion, with unwholesome food, with a stomach which but imperfectly discharges its functions, and with vitiated digestive juices. All these causes may contribute to the decay of the teeth, and the bad state of the gums. The following precautions are necessary to preserve the teeth. 1. Cold applications are injurious to the teeth. 2. Too hat aliments are likewise hurtful. It has been observed, that great tea-drinkers commonly have yellow teeth. 3. Cutting thread or silk with the teeth is a bad habit, which wears the enamel, loosens them, some- times breaks pieces off, and in time spoils their form. The shortness of the incisor teeth in some females, is a mark of this bad habit. 4. Avoid cracking nuts or walnuts, or biting hard substances of any kind with the teeth. If you do not break them always by such unnatural violence, you at least loosen them, and painful tooth-aches are not unfrequently the consequences. 5. Dangerous diversions, such as carrying or lifting weights with the teeth, are very destructive both of teeth and gums. 6. In masticating food both jaws ought to be equally used. Where one side is only put in action, the teeth BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 109 on the inactive side are more liable to accumulate tartar, and to decay ; they are also less firm in their sockets, and are sometimes subject, especially the grinders, to be partly covered by the gums. 7. The use of metallic toothpicks, pins, forks, &c., with which people are in the slovenly and thoughtless habit of picking their teeth, ought to be studiously proscribed. 8. Abstain from washing the head. 9. Cold feet are another cause of tooth-ache. 10. The naked costume, damp night air, and the fashion of wearing the hair too short, very frequently contribute to disorder the teeth. * The principal precautions for the preservation of the teeth, consist above all things, in securing them from tartar, their greatest enemy, and caries, which is some- times the consequence of their being too much exposed to the action of that corrosive matter. The gums cannot be healthy unless they are firm and red, and adhere to the roots of the teeth. These quali- ties depend in a great measure on the state of the health. The gums are liable to a variety of accidents which impair both their health and beauty, and which often transform them into objects most disgusting to the eye. Sometimes they grow soft, swell, and appear full of livid and corrupted blood at others they project, and cover great part of the teeth ; they also become in- flamed and painful, and covered with offensive and malignant ulcers. 110 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, When disease of the gums proceeds from internal causes, these must be first attacked with adequate remedies : in this case recourse must be had to medical advice ; we shall only here, therefore, consider such cases for which local applications are sufficient. Tincture for the Teeth and Gums. Take Peruvian bark coarsely powdered one ounce, and infuse it for a fortnight in half a pint of brandy. Gargle the mouth morning and night with a teaspoon- ful of this tincture, diluted with an equal quantity of rose-water. Mixture for Caries, or rotten Teeth. Make a balsam with a sufficient quantity of honey, two scruples of myrrh in fine powder, a scruple of gum jumper, and ten grains of rock alum. A portion to be applied frequently to the decayed teeth. A liquid Remedy for the same. Take a pint of the juice of the wild gourd, a quarter of a pound of mulberry bark and pellitory of Spain, each three ounces. Rock alum, sal gem and borax, of each half an ounce. Put these ingredients into a vessel, and distil, in a sand heat, to dryness. Take of this liquor and brandy, each an equal part, and wash the mouth with them warm. The mixture, removes and corrects all putrid sub- stances in the mouth or teeth. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. Ill A Coral Stick for the Teeth. Make a stiff paste with tooth powder and a sufficient quantity of mucilage of gum fragacanth : form with this paste cylindrical rollers, the thickness of a large goose- quill, and about three inches in length. The way to use this stick is to rub it against the teeth, which become cleaner in proportion as it wastes. To give Firmness to Soft Gums. Take Spanish wine, and distilled water of bramble leaves, of each one pint ; cinnamon, half an ounce ; cloves and Seville orange peel, of each two drachms ; gumlac and calcined alum, of each one drachm. Re- duce the whole to a fine powder, and add two ounces of Narbonne honey. Put this mixture into a glass bottle, set it on hot ashes, and let it stand four days ; on the fifth, strain the liquid by pressure through a thick linen cloth, and then put it away in a well-corked bottle till used. When the gums want hardening, take a spoonful of this liquid, and pour it into a glass. Use half of it at first to rinse the mouth, in which it must be retained for a minute or two. Then spit it out and take the other half, which also hold in the mouth a longer or shorter time, accordingly as the gums have more or less occasion to be strengthened. Rub them at the same time with the finger ; then wash the mouth with luke- warm water. OBS. This operation is to be performed the first 112 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, thing in the morning, and the last at night. To render the remedy still more effective, add to the whole of the liquor half a pint of cinnamon water distilled with white wine. To reduce the gums when swollen with vitiated lymph; gargle with red wine, in which a small quantity of Florentine iris has been boiled. If the gums are ulcerated in consequence of the scorbutic tendency or bad state of the blood, use scurvy-grass to cleanse and strengthen them; but at the same time a commen- surate internal treatment must be adopted. The Turkish ladies chew mastic fasting to give their breath an agreeable odour, as well to prevent the tooth- ache. FALSE TEETH. THE loss of teeth is not totally irreparable. Formerly they used to be transplanted from one individual to another; the practice, however, having been productive of serious consequences, caused it to be discontinued. Artificial teeth are now so naturally made, as to resemble the real ones so closely as almost to prevent detection ; and if they do not completely satisfy the stomach, they leave, at least, nothing to be desired by the self love of the fair, and perfectly fill up every unseemly gap. False teeth are commonly made of ivory ; though latterly various compositions have been invented for the same purpose. To some of these any tint may be given ; so that they have the advantage of BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 113 matching perfectly in colour with the natural teeth, beside which they are to be placed an advantage which ivory teeth do not afford. DENTIFRICES. To clean the Teeth and Gums. ^ Take an ounce of myrrh in fine powder ; two spoon- fuls of the best white honey, and a little green sage in very fine powder. Mix them well together, and wet the teeth and gums with a little every night and morning. OBS. This preparation will make flesh grow close to the root of the enamel. Tooth Powder. Take myrrh, roche-alum, dragon's blood, and cream of tartar, of each half an ounce. OBS. This, though simple, is an efficacious denti- frice ; though it ought not to be used too often, for fear of injuring the enamel. Another. Take pumice stona, and cuttle-fish bone, of each half an ounce; vitriolated tartar, and mastic, of each a drachm; oil of rhodium, four drops. Mix all into a fine powder. Another. Take prepared coral and dragon's blood, of each an 114 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, ounce; cinnamon and cloves, of each six drachms; cuttle-fish. bone, and calcined eggshells, of each half an ounce ; sea-salt decrepitated, a drachm, all in fine powder. Mix them in a marhle mortar. A proportion of Venetian red added to this form, will constitute what is called, hy way of distinction, the Asiatic dentifrice, or nearly so. The following is the exact formula of the Asiatic Dentifrices. Take Red Coral prepared - 8 Ib. 4 oz. Venetian red - 12 oz. 3 drs. Ocre and pumice stone 1 Ib. 2 oz. 6 drs. China musk 1 drachm. Lardner's prepared Charcoal. Chalk, coloured grey, with charcoal. Another. Take Florentine iris 4 ounces. Cuttle-fish bones 2 ounces. Cream of tartar 1 ounce. Oil of cloves 16 drops. Lake - 16 drops. To whiten and beautify the Teeth. Take Gum tragacanth 1 ounce. Pumice stone 2 drachms. Gum arabic \ ounce. Cream of tartar 1 ounce. I BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 115 Dissolve the gums in rose water, and, adding to it the powder, form the whole into little sticks, which are to be dried slowly in the shade, and afterwards kept for Another. Q Take dried leaves of hyssop, wild thyme, and mint, of each half an ounce ; rock alum, prepared hartshorn, and salt, of each a drachm ; calcine these ingredients in a pot placed on burning coals. When sufficiently calcined, add of pepper an^d mastic, each half a drachm, and myrrh a scruple, reduce the whole to a fine pow- der, and make them into a proper consistence with storax dissolved in rose water. Rub the teeth with a small bit of this mixture every morning, and afterwards wash the mouth with warm wine. Another. Dip a piece of clean rag in the oxymel of squills, and rub the teeth and gums with it. This not only whitens, but fastens and strengthens the roots of the teeth, and corrects an offensive breath. Another. Take rose water, syrup of violets, clarified honey, and plantain water, of each half an ounce ; spirit of vitriol one ounce ; mix them together. Rub the teeth with a i2 116 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, linen rag moistened in this liquor, and then rinse the mouth with equal parts of rose and plantain water. Another. Rub them with nettle or tohacco ashes, or with vine ashes, mixed with a little honey. OBS. Charcoal alone stands pre-eminent in the rank of dentifrices. From the property it possesses of de- stroying the colouring particles, it has heen turned to a good purpose as a tooth powder for whitening the teeth ; and as it attacks only the colouring matter on the teeth, it does no injury to the enamel. It possesses besides the property of opposing putrefaction, of check- ing its progress, and even causing it to retrograde; hence it is calculated to destroy the vices of the gums, to clean them, and to correct the foetor which may ac- cumulate in the mouth and among the teeth : in these two respects, powdered charcoal is the tooth-powder, for excellence, and is accordingly recommended by many eminent physicians and chemists. It may occa- sionally he used either with myrrh, Peruvian hark, cream of tartar, or chalk : see p. 114. BEAUTY, AND FASHION 117 CHAP. XVII. TO RELIEVE THE TOOTH-ACHE WITHOUT REMOVING THE TOOTH. WE ought necessarily here to say something concerning the tooth-ache, that excruciating pain, that " hell o' a' diseases," as the Scotch poet Burns says " When fevers burn, or ague freezes, Rheumatics gnaw, or colic squeezes, Our neighbours' sympathy may ease us, Wi' pitying moan ; But tooth-ache hell o' a' diseases ! Aye mocks our groan." and which, in a very short time, distorts the features of the finest face, and sometimes very seriously affects the health. The tooth-ache proceeds from such a variety of causes, that no certain specific has yet been discovered, and it is perhaps easier to say what shouM be avoided, than to direct precisely what ought to be done. Those who make a trade of curing the tooth-ache, and prefer the appearance of success, and promptness of effect, to the welfare of their patients, make use of camphor and opium dissolved in ethereal oil of cloves; and 118 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, deafness has been some times known to be the conse- quence. Opium employed in any other way than as a narcotic is not always successful ; it relaxes the minute fibres which fasten the teeth in their sockets ; and it has been observed that those who make frequent use of it soon lose their teeth. The same inconvenience also results from the use of spirit of scurvy grass, which, it is true, sometimes allays the tooth-ache, but it swells the gums, loosens the teeth, and at length occasions the loss of them. Generally speaking, all strong or corrosive liquids ap- plied for curing the tooth-ache are pernicious, and ought not to be used but with the strictest caution ; for it would be too harsh to prohibit their use entirely to afflicted patients troubled with this dreadful malady, when they experience no relief from any of the remedies with which they are acquainted. Let us now lay down some remedies employed for curing or appeasing the tooth- ache. When tooth-ache evidently arises from a decayed or hollow tooth, and the patient is unwilling to have it extracted, the first thing to be done is to ease the excru- ciating pain, which, as Burns says, " bears the bell of all misery and rankest plagues." One of the most powerful remedies for this, is exciting some strong emotion of the mind, such as terror, hope, wonder, and the like the great engines, by the way, used by the early as well as modern miracle-mongers. If you have faith in these, the remedy is certain. The noto- BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 119 rious Valentine Greatrakes cured the tooth-ache by simply stroking the cheek ; some by blowing upon the patient ; others by a magnet held to the tooth ; and it has been known to have been charmed away by any authoritative words : as " presto quick, change, and begone." Fumigation has been resorted to by means of a fire-shovel, a funnel, and a bolus of wax, in which onion or some narcotic seed is mixed up. The shovel at length burns the seed and deprives it of the outer husk, and gives it the appearance of a small maggot or worm, which the credulous are given to believe came out of the tooth, and was the original cause of the pain, which is now fled; that cause having evidently been removed, how is it possible the effect can longer exist. Whan a patient is not sufficiently credulous to sub- mit to this sort of quackery, recourse may be had to opiates. A small bit of opium may be thrust into the hollow tooth; or a piece of cotton wool soaked in laudanum and applied frequently, allays the pain ; or a quarter of a grain of the extract of belladonna, made into a pill, and suffered to dissolve on the affected tooth, is frequently attended with more permanent benefit ; camphor dissolved in oil of turpentine, is also a favourite remedy, viz. Take Camphor - - - - - 2 drachms Spirits of turpentine - 1 ounce Let it dissolve, and apply, by means of cotton wool, as above directed. 120 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Cajeput oil is another valuable remedy for allay- ing the pain. The most effectual remedy is to destroy the sensibility of the nerve by putting the tip of a red- hot wire into the hollow tooth. Pain in any other part of the body, on the principle of derivation, eases the tooth-ache. Hot water, tobacco- smoke, or brandy, held in the mouth, frequently re- lieves the pain ; or, what is still better, Take pellitory of Spain, powdered, one drachm, with a sufficient quantity of the mucilage of gum arabic. Make a mass, and divide it into twelve equal parts; take one into the mouth, and let it dissolve on the affected tooth as often as occasion may require. If an external application be preferred, the following ointment may be rubbed on the jaw : Take Spirits of camphor - - - 1 ounce Liquid ammonia - - - 3 drachms Bergamotte - - - - - 10 drops Mix them in a phial for use. If the gums be spongy and tender, and apt to bleed, tinctures of myrrh and Peruvian bark, equal parts, may be occasionally applied, somewhat diluted; or any of the preceding recipes laid down for the same purpose. A blister applied behind the ear, or burning the lap of the ear with a cloth dipped in boiling water, will often remove the pain entirely. Some cooling aperient, as Epsom salts, greatly assist, at all times, violent paroxyms of the tooth-ache. The return of the pain, when the nerve is not de- BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 121 stroyed, is best prevented by stuffing the hollow of the teeth with melted sealing-wax, or with some metal, as silver, gold, or even lead. This is best done by a pro- fessed dentist. It has lately been proposed, and it is wort' the trial, to fill the hollow tooth with some of the Water-proof cements, used by stone masons, which are known to harden under water. The cement should be put into the hollow in the form of a soft paste, and when it becomes hard no moisture will ever dissolve it. A French writer (M. Rostan) in his comparison between the nourishment of feathers and that of the teeth, says, that fumigation with rosemary, sage, roses, mastic, paper, warm water, coffee, and particularly wasps' nests, relieves the tooth-ache, and even cures it for a considerable time. According to Willis, it is sufficient to hold in the mouth a decoction of deal shavings, which probably act by virtue of the resinous parts they contain. Numerous experiments have extolled the use of dis- tilled lavender-water : a few drops, in water, as defend- ing those who adopt it, as a mouth- wash, from tooth- ache and swellings of the gums, that is, what is usually termed gum-boils. This simple mixture possesses the property of dissolving the serosities of the gums and salivary glands. \Another, and very simple process to preserve the teeth and prevent them from aching, is, every morning, on getting out of bed, to wipe away, with a clean dry cloth, the moisture which is very commonly found behind the ears on awaking. "" * 122 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, There have, in fine, been many instances of the cure of tooth-ache which would appear to overthrow the best-established theories, were it not known, that tooth- ache proceeds from causes which are often extremely different. It is generally agreed by physicians, and indeed by every one, that cold is the most predomi- nant cause, and yet it is known that the application of snow has caused the most excruciating pain of the teeth to subside. Mere accident suggested snow to a soldier who suffered severely from the tooth-ache ; and it has been tried with invariable success. A leaf of the black horehound chewed, and the saliva worked among the teeth, has been found to fasten them when they were loose; and there are instances on record, by which tooth-ache and deafness have been cured by dancing; hence the most simple, and frequently by unlocked for, and purely accidental remedies, relief has been obtained in various complaints, which hitherto had baffled the whole Materia Medica. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 123 CHAP. XVIII. THE EARS. THE whole toilette of the ear consists in paying proper attention to cleanliness. Externally the concha or external cavities ought to be washed and carefully dried. We have already observed, that many persons prevent the tooth-ache by attention to the ears. Inter- nally it is necessary to remove the cerumen when too copious. This must not be done too indiscriminately or too completely, for it is the wax of the internal ear which lubricates the passages for the admission of sounds. In the production of this secretion, nature had this useful object in view, and excessive cleanli- ness in the passages of the internal ear would be hostile to her intentions. Indurated wax in the internal ear is often a cause of deafness. When this is the case, soap-suds may be injected by means of a delicate syringe; and a little bullock's gall, to which a few drops of the balsam of Tolu may be added, will remove the cause. It would, perhaps, be a difficult task to define what ought to constitute a handsome ear; though unques- tionably there is a beauty peculiar to this structure 124 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, equally rare, perhaps, and of equal importance with that of the other parts of the body. Such, at least, was the opinion of that celebrated painter Annibale Carracci. At all events, a just medium and proportion must always arrive nearer the point of perfection than extremes ; consequently it may be concluded, that the ear ought to be neither too high nor too low, nor pro- ject too far. These are defects injurious to symmetry, the soul of beauty ; and they destroy regularity of the oval of the forehead. A handsome ear ought not to be either too large or too small; too muscular or too cartilaginous; too crisped or too flat ; too red or too pale. All these and other extremes, are indicatives of certain physical or moral imperfections, of which it is neither our province nor intention to treat. CHAP. XIX. EYES AND NOSE. FINE eyes and handsome noses are constant themes with the votaries of beauty and fashion. On this sub- ject we shall not set ourselves up as the arbiter elegan- tiarum. Each have their respective admirers. The nose and forehead ought, it is said, to be of equal BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 125 length, and from the nose to the chin another length, to constitute what is called a well-proportioned face. The majority of observers have remarked that nothing is more rare than a perfectly handsome nose, the prin- cipal characters of which are described as follows by Lavater : " The length ought to be equal to that of the fore- head, where it ought to have a slight cavity at the root. When seen in front, the ridge should be rather broad, and broader in the middle than any where else. The end should be neither hard nor muscular, and the lower contour neither too pointed nor too broad. In front the al&, or sides of the nose should distinctly appear, and the nostrils be shortened in a pleasing manner below. In the profile, the lower side of the triangle should not exceed one-third of the length. The nostrils ought to end more or less in a point, and to be gracefully incur- vated. At the top, the nose must nearly join the arch of the orbit of the eye. A nose with this conforma- tion always announces an excellent and distinguished character." The testimony of this eminent physiogno- mist, strengthens the testimony we have invariably maintained respecting the connexion existing between physical beauty and moral excellence. The eyes are subject to numberless complaints, for which it is prudent, if they assume a threatening appearance, to apply to some skilful practitioner in medicine. Blearedness spoils the beauty of the fairest eyes. 126 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, When it is of recent origin, it is sufficient to wash the eyes with fennel or eye-bright water, with wine, or water mixed with a little brandy. The secretions of the eyes and nose ought to be par- ticularly attended to, as liable, if not removed, to corrode, and render imperfect the functions they have to perform in the animal economy. Cooling Collyrium. Take distilled water ----- 7 ounces Solution of the acetate of lead 20 drops, Mix. The strength of this application must be mo- dified according to the irritability of the inflamed eye, by diminishing or adding to the quantity of the solu- tion ; and previous to its use, the fermentation of poppy heads directed for inflamed eyes, will be of the greatest advantage. It forms a very good cooling astringent eye-wash. Another. Take Rose water - - - - 6 ounces Acetate of lead - - - 20 grains. Mix. This is also a cooling and mildly astringent application. Another. Take Sulphate of zinc - - drachm Distilled water - - - 1 pint. All these, indeed, are very suitable applications to BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 127 weak inflamed eyes, or where there exists a tendency to a preternatural secretion of tears. They may be ad- vantageously used in mild cases with safety, or until professional advice be procured, if necessary. For watery and inflamed Eyes. Foment frequently with decoction of poppy heads; when the irritation and inflammation occur, a tea spoon- ful of cogniac brandy, in four ounces of spring water, may be used three or four times in the course of the day as a strengthening lotion. Poultice for moist Eyes. Take half a pint of alum arid, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of powdered red rose leaves to give it a proper consistence. Applied over the eyes between gauze, it is an excel- lent gently astringent lotion for watery and weak eyes, and admirably cools and represses defluxions. A little of the juice of rue, mixed with clarified honey, dropped now and then into the eyes, is used with the same intention. 128 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAP. XX. EYE -BROWS. THE eye-brows are a part of the face comparatively but little noticed, though in disclosing the real senti- ments of the mind scarcely any other feature of the face can come in competition. In vain the most pru- dent female imposes silence on her tongue in vain she contrives to compose her face and her eyes a single movement of the eye-brows instantly discloses what is passing in her soul. Placed upon a skin and attached to muscles which move them in every direction, the eye- brows are obedient, in consequence of their extreme mo- bility, to the slightest internal impulses. There majesty, pride, vanity, severity, kindness, the dull and gloomy passions, and the passions soft and gay, are alternately depicted. But it would seem that the eye-brows have a still stronger expression in women than in men ; as they are more easily moved, so in them the signs of internal emotions cannot but manifest themselves more speedily. "The eye-brows alone," says Lavater, the prince of physiognomists, " often give the positive expression of the character." " Part of the soul/' says Pliny the Elder, "resides in the eye-brows, which move at the command of the will." Le Brun, in his treatise on the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 129 Passions, says " that the eye-brows are the least equi- vocal interpreters of the emotions of the heart, and of the affections of the soul : " and Pernette observes, that " one of the parts of the face, which ought to be considered as one of the safest interpreters of the senti- ments, is the eye-brows." A perfect vocabulary might, indeed, be composed of the language of the eye-brows, though this would be leading us too far out of our direct road. We shall merely add the following word of advice to the fair sex " Ladies, beware of your eye-brows ; use them dis- creetly, since very frequently they are either treacherous or imprudent." The function of the eye-brows is to diminish the effect of too strong a light ; and physiologists have re- marked, that the darker the colour the better they fulfil this office. It has been also observed, that they are thicker in people of a dark complexion, and more scanty in those of a light one. The principal beauty of the eye-brows consists in being arched, and sufficiently furnished with brilliant hair, extremely dark and fine. They are likewise required to be separated from one another, but the ancients, on the contrary, were de- sirous to have them joined. This taste is so different from ours, that we should scarcely credit the fact, were it not attested by various authors. Ovid affirms that the Roman ladies painted the interval between the eye- brows, that they might appear to form but one. Ana- creon extols the beauty of the conjoined eye-brows of 130 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, his mistress, and the testimony of Theocritus and Pe- tronius might be introduced on the same subject. The same taste prevailed among the Arabs. What the an- cients considered a beauty would, at the present day, be looked upon as a deformity. Eye-brows which are too close together give the coun- tenance a sullen and morose appearance : our modern belles accordingly take the greatest pains to destroy the hair at the top of the nose ; whereas the Roman ladies strove to imitate it, by art, when it had been refused by nature. Thus the natives of Nicobar Islands, without taking the trouble to discuss the merits of the question at issue between the Roman ladies and ours, relative to conjoined or separate eye-brows, settle the difficulty by pulling theirs up by the roots, and going without which, no doubt, with them, is considered an equal mark of beauty. CHAP. XXI. EYE-LASHES. Circassian method of procuring fine Eye-lashes. IT is unnecessary to dwell on the beauty of long, silken, glossy eye-lashes, which have so often been the theme both of lovers and poets. Lord Byron, who possessed all the fine tact of an Oriental lover, with all BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 131 the deep and enthusiastic feeling of a poet, has often hung some of his richest gems on a beautiful eye-lash. One example of this kind shall suffice : As a stream late conceal'd By the fringe of its willows, Now rushes reveal'd In the light of its billows j As the ball bursts on high From the black cloud that bound it, Flash 'd the soul of that eye From the LONG LASHES round it. BRIDE OF ABYDOS. It is no less strange than true, however, that Euro- pean beauties are quite inattentive to the growth of their eye-lashes ; though in Circassia, Georgia, Persia, and Hindostan, it is one of the first objects of a mother's care to promote the growth of her children's eye-lashes. If hair be left to itself, it seldom grows long; but either splits at the top into two or more forks, or becomes smaller and smaller till it end in a fine gossamer point. When it does so it never grows any longer, but remains stationary. The Circassian method of treating the eye-lashes is founded on this principle. The careful mother removes, with a pair of scissors, the forked and gossamer-like points (not more) of the eye-lashes, and every time this is done their growth is renewed, and they become long, close, finely curved, and of a silky gloss. This operation of tipping may be repeated every month or six weeks. The eye-lashes of infants and children are best tipped K2 132 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, when they are asleep. Ladies may, with a little care, do the office for themselves. This secret must be in- valuable to those whose eye-lashes have been thinned and dwarfed, as often happens from inflammation of the eyes. The growth of the eye-lashes has been promoted, where they have been lost from sore eyes, by the fol- lowing simple ointment : ** Take ointment of nitric oxyde of mercury, 2 drachms Hogs' lard -------1 drachm Incorporate the ointment well with the lard, and anoint the edges of the eye-lids night and morning ; washing after each time with milk and water, warm. To Blacken the Eye-lashes and Eye-brows. The simplest preparations for this purpose are the juice of elder-berries ; burnt cork, or cloves burnt at the candle. Some employ the black of frankincense, resin, and mastic : this black, it is said, will not come off with perspiration. Wash to blacken the Eye-brows. Wash the eye-brows previously with the decoction of galls, then rub them with a brush dipped in the solu- tion of green vitriol, and let them dry. A little gum may be added to the last. Black Composition for the same. Take an ounce of pitch, the same quantity of resin and frankincense, and half an ounce of mastic. Throw BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 133 them upon live charcoal, over which lay a plate to receive the smoke. A black soot will adhere to the plate ; with this soot impregnate the eye-lashes and eye-brows, by rubbing them with it very delicately. This operation, if occasionally repeated, will preserve them perfectly black. OBS. The above composition may be perfumed with a little of the oil of Benjamin, eau de Cologne, cr a little of the juice of elder-berries, and it is fit for being applied to the eye-brows or eye-lashes. CHAP. XXII. BEAUTY OF THE EYES AND EYE-BROWS. EXCEPT among the ancient Romans and the modern Chinese, large eyes have always been esteemed essen- tial to beauty. By this test alone we can distinguish whether an antique statue of Venus or Juno be Roman or Grecian, as the classic Greeks had more taste than to represent a goddess with small, peering, miserly eyes. Homer, indeed, seldom mentions Juno without comparing her eyes to those of the eagle. The Oriental poets draw a more elegant simile from the large-eyed antelope or gazelle, which has not escaped Lord Byron. Her eyes' dark charm 't were vain to tell, But gaze on that of the gazelle, It will assist thy fancy well. GIAOUR. 134 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The brilliancy of the eye and its appearance of fulness, depend, of course, in some degree, on its form, and on the magnitude of the eye-hall ; hut still more on the closeness and amplitude of the eye-lashes, and the dia- meter of the pupil. It is the eye-lashes only over which we possess the greatest power, as we can bring them to the highest perfection of gloss and thickness, by the Circassian method, which will be detailed in the succeeding chapter. This is not all : the Oriental beau- ties, from time immemorial, have practised the art of darkening the eye-lashes with antimony, which is put both on the hairs, and on the skin at their roots, while a small streak of it is often extended outwards from the exterior angle of each eye. # This has a very imposing effect when artfully performed; and we have seen European ladies, who had visited the East, employ the same method to give a lustre and beauty to their eyes, altogether inconceivable, making even the plainest little grey eyes appear full-orbed and piercingly dark. A large pupil, though certainly one of the choicest marks of beauty, is no less a sure token of a weak, and in all probability a scrofulous, if not a consumptive constitution so much so, that whatever tends to render the body delicate, will seldom fail to dilate and enlarge the pupil, and make the eyes beautifully languid. We cannot, however, with safety recommend any practical method of enlarging the pupils of the eyes on this prin- ciple ; though it is well known there are various vege- table substances which possess this property, and which BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 135 are not unfrequently used by oculists in order to ex- amine the deeper seated parts of the eye. BLACK EYES. The Greeks and Romans, as already remarked, enter- tained very different sentiments of beauty. The former were fond of eye-brows wide asunder, and a well-pro- portioned forehead. The latter preferred eye-brows that met, and a little forehead. The Romans preferred eyes of moderate size, the Greeks wished to have them large. The colours of the eyes, like that of the hair, have no less their different advocates. The ancients preferred black eyes, and the modern Greeks still have such a predilection for the same colour, that, as we are informed by M. Guys, in his Letters on Greece, the very men frequently take their names from that circum- stance. He says that he knew several who were called macromate, which in the vulgar language signifies black eyed. The opinions of certain nations ought not, how- ever, to induce us to give the absolute preference to black eyes, and to adjudge to them exclusively the prize of beauty. Every one so far, ought to be allowed to be the arbiter of his own taste, let us not then give implicit credit to the assertions of the Greeks, when they tell us that black eyes are the most beautiful; since it is well known that hazel, and large blue eyes, have their admirers wherever taste and elegance are to be found. The colour alone, however, does not con- tribute to the beauty of the eye, it depends still more 136 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, on the form. If the eye, for instance, be too large, too small, too prominent, it is equally distant from perfec- tion.* BLUE EYES. Beer, an eminent German physician and oculist, says that blue eyes are capable of supporting a much longer and more violent tension than black ones. The strength and duration of the sight, depend on the dif- ferent colour of the eyes, and even that depends on a greater or less degree of clearness of the pupil, as the * It is a prejudice very generally received, that the largest eyes are the most beautiful, and that the smallest mouth is the most perfect. Perfection, however, does not lie in ex- tremes. The Greek artists, when they represented Pallas or Juno, made the orbit of the eye large and capacious ; but in delineating the face of the goddess of Love, they gave her eyes considerably smaller. A large eye is more majestic, and majesty always detracts from grace, the inseparable com- panion of beauty. The same observation applies to the mouth ; when too large it is ugly, when too small it is defi- cient in expression. In women who have an extremely small mouth, there is seldom observed that amiableness of dis- position and character, which is so frequently found in those who have a handsome mouth of moderate size. It would seem that too small a mouth indicates a weakness which degene- rates into affectation. The last-mentioned quality seems to be so inseparably attached to smallness of the mouth, that even those females who have an ordinary mouth, when they are going to be affected, always begin by contracting that part. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 137 defects of the sight depend on a colour more or less dark. Hence it results, that in this point of view, blue eyes are infinitely better than black. The former, there- forej possess; in a more eminent degree than the latter, the perfections adapted to their functions. The same author has also remarked, that black eyes are more sub- ject to cataracts ; and he also observes, that out of twenty persons with black eyes, you find not one who is perfectly satisfied with them. In this particular then, it must be admitted that blue eyes are better adapted to their destination than black ones. The eyes contribute to the regularity of the face by their respective direction, position, and distance : when too near or too wide apart, they detract from the beauty of the general appearance of the face. CHAP. XXIII. THE HANDS AND NAILS. A fine hand in male or female is always pleasing ; and next to the charms of a beautiful face, a woman has an undoubted right to be proud of a fine delicately tapered hand, and a symmetrical and elegantly rounded arm. A handsome head may be appended to a very ordinary body, and a head without harmony may detract from 138 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the elegance of a well-shapen body ; but a fine hand and arm scarcely ever accompany any other than a perfect figure. From seeing the hand and arm, a criterion may be formed of the rest of the body. A large, coarse, red, bony, clumsy hand ; short, thick, ill-shapen fingers, announce mean birth, low inclina- tions, neglected education, a hard, laborious life. On the contrary, a hand white and smooth, diversified with bluish veins, presenting to the touch the softness of satin, and to the eye the grateful colour of milk, is the ne plus ultra of beauty, perfection, and attraction. What care then ought not ladies to take of this inesti- mable appendage, which declares not only the perfection of beauty, but which likewise produces so favourable an idea of the rank they hold in society, and often of their physical and moral accomplishments. The care requisite to preserve the complexion of the hands and arms is to be deduced from the principles we have laid down, under the head of cosmetics, &c. in treating of the skin. Too great cold, or too great heat, produces roughness and wrinkles ; consequently water too hot or too cold must produce these effects ; and for the same reason exposure to the air will subject them to the same inconveniences, especially just after having been washed. A very useful precaution is to wear gloves on going abroad ; and leather gloves contribute most to preserve the delicacy of the hands. Dog-skin gloves keep the skin soft ; they also allay itching, and correct the con- BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 139 traction of the hands. There are women who benefi- cially apply the same skin to the bosom ; which they cover with pieces at night to keep the skin soft and elastic. Medicine has also availed itself of the assist- ance of this skin : it has prescribed stockings made of it to relieve the gout, to strengthen the legs, and to prevent swelling. A variety of soaps are composed to give whiteness and suppleness to the skin. Every perfumer makes them his own particular way. Among these are soaps of various names, as seraglio wash balls, musk soaps, and soaps scented with every perfume of the East. These are more easily procured than made 'for pri- vate use. TO IMPROVE THE SKIN. Take two ounces of Venice soap, and dissolve it in two ounces of lemon juice. Add one ounce of the oil of bitter almonds, and a like quantity of the oil of tartar. Mix the whole and stir it well till it has acquired the consistence of soap ; and use it as such for the hands. The*paste of sweet almonds, which contains an oil fit for keeping the skin soft and elastic, and removing in- durations, may be beneficially applied to the hands and arms. Some ladies assert that oils turn the hands brown ; so much at least is certain, that oily applications do not produce the same good effects upon all females. An excellent paste for the hands is made of horse- 140 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, chestnuts ; and this is not attended with any inconve- nience. It is prepared as follows : Dry some horse-chestnuts and peel them pound them in a covered mortar, and sift the powder through a fine sieve. Put a suitable quantity of this powder into water, and it will become white, sopanaceous, and as soft as milk. Frequent use of this is highly salutary, and contributes greatly to the lustre and whiteness of the skin, to whatever part of the body it may be applied. t The Italian women use the flower of maize, or Turkey corn, and every one who has seen them, knows what fair skins they have ; and Scotch ladies use oat- meal or cold porridge, which is little if at all inferior. ,^ Various pomatums and ointments are used for the hands, not only to relieve their colour, but to prevent them from chapping, and curing them when thus afflicted, of these we shall now speak. The most common accidents which are liable to in- terrupt the health, harmony, and appearance of the hands are chaps, chilblains, and warts. The perspira- tion of the hands is also at times very troublesome, especially to such as are employed in works which re- quire great cleanliness. CHAPS. This affliction usually is the result of cold to the skin, which, though not so serious as chilblains, of which we shall treat hereafter, is very detrimental to delicate hands. The very thin scurf or cuticle, which possesses BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 141 no more feeling than the hair or the nails, is but slightly united to the thick true skin, and is easily de- tached. When this thin scarfskin, therefore, is shri- velled, and consequently raised from the true skin, by either cold or heat, it can never be brought to unite or sit close again; and leaves the true skin, which is acutely sensible, quite bare, raw, and sore ; and this soreness soon causes irritation and inflammation. This is the true history of chapping, which may alike occur from summer's heat as the cold of winter ; and it for the most part attacks the lips, face, hands, or any other part exposed to heat or cold. Hence the hands of washerwomen, and kitchen-maids, and the feet of coun- try people's children, who go barefooted, are often severely chapped, or as it is also termed, hacked or gars-garved. For Chapped Hands. Take three drachms of bole ammoniac three drachms of myrrh, and a drachm of white lead. Incorporate these with a sufficient quantity of goose-grease; and with this anoint the parts affected ; and wear worsted gloves. Another. Take Myrrh, 1 ounce ; Litharge, 1 drachm ; Honey, 4 ounces ; Wax, yellow, 2 ounces ; Oil of roses,6 ounces. Mix the whole in one well-blended mass for use. OBS. When the hands are chapped avoid putting them in water. 142 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, For Chapped Lips. Take two tea-spoonsful of clarified honey, and a few drops of distilled lavender water, or any other agreeable scent. Mix them together, and anoint the lips frequently. If the hands are affected, anoint them all over at going to bed, wearing gloves during the night. Wash them next morning with tepid milk and water. A night or two will effect a cure.* WARTS. These unseemly exuberances may not unfrequently be removed by very simple means. Touching them gently with sulphuric acid, or with a strong solution of sal am- moniac in water, or touching them with lapis infernalis (blue stone) will remove them, if the milder applications fail, such as rubbing them with sprigs of purslain, or with the water which oozes out of the shells of snails by means of a little perforation expressly made. Some cut radishes in slices, place them between two pewter plates with some salt, and stir them well up together. These are used to rub the warts with. Sea-salt dissolved in vinegar, horse-radish pounded with salt, juice of mary- gold leaves, celandine, dandelion, wart-wort, and house- leek, are spoken of; also agrimony steeped in vinegar; these may all have their advantages, though when they fail, the first mentioned are the surest means of remov- * See Lip-salves, &c. p. 86. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 143 ing these superfluous appendages to the hands. Equal parts of rhubarb in powder, and ipecacuanha, form a good mild escharotic for them, also the powder of savine, having previously pared away the decayed or callous part. And if it can be conveniently done, tie a small silk thread, or horse-hair round the base of them, and they will die away ; or where the neck of them is small, it has been recommended to nip them off with a pair of sharp scissors, and afterward touch the place with blue vitriol. The lunar caustic is directed to be applied after paring down the wart. See Corns. CHILBLAINS. Chilblains generally attack the hands and feet ; but they are cured by the same means, on whatever part they may appear. Children and old people, or those who are weak and delicate at any age, particularly females, are most subject to chilblains, which arise from deficiency of vigour in the fibres of the feet, the hands, and sometimes even the nose, ears, and lips, at those particular seasons, when The parching air Burns and cold performs the effect of fire. MILTON. Exposure to great cold, or currents of cold air, will produce chilblains even in the most robust. At first they appear with redness, swelling, a sense of tingling, and intolerable itching, which is increased by heat. As 144 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, it proceeds, the parts assume a leaden or bluish colour, and the itching is excessively painful. Little vesicles arise and burst, and leave the part sore and ulcerated, often eating deep into the flesh, and even to the bone, and in this stage the sores or kibes are extremely obsti- nate and difficult to cure, and mortification may follow. Those who would prevent chilblains ought never to expose themselves suddenly before a fire after having been in the cold, particularly when the hands and feet are suffering under the latter sensation ; and vice versa, when these extremities (the hands and feet), are hot, or in a state of perspiration, they ought never to be suddenly exposed to cold. A cold current of air let into a warm room by the opening of a door, is, with delicate females, a common cause of chilblains, as well as sitting too closely by the fire in cold weather ; as a current of cold air is always blowing towards the fire, even when the doors are shut. Bathing or spunging the feet with cold water night and morning ; or with salt dissolved in water, rubbing them a short time after with a coarsish towel, is deemed an excellent preventive. Also wearing dog-skin socks. Those who wear fleecy hosiery, as stockings, should interpose an oil-skin sock : we allude to such as are more pre-disposed to chilblains than others. Carpet or fur-skin shoes are not recommended. When the tingling and itching are first felt (a sure sign of chilblains), the parts, hands or feet, ought to be bathed in cold water, or rubbed with snow, till the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 145 sensation subsides ; then well dried, either of the above defensatives used ; or the following preventive embro- cation may be used, though the first method is unques- tionably the best. Take spirit of turpentine 1 ounce Balsam of Copayva 1 ounce. Mix them together, and rub the afflicted parts two or three times a day with a portion of it. Mr. War drop's Chilblain Embrocation. Take tincture of cantharides 2 drachms Soap liniment - - - 1J ounce. Mix, and rub the affected parts therewith. Sir A. Cooper's Chilblain Liniment. Take camphorated spirit of wine 1 ounce. Liquor of subacetate of lead J ounce. Mix, and rub on the affected parts. When the parts break and ulcerate, lint dipped in lime water and a few drops of the solution of the subacetate of lead, will allay the pain; and although preparations of lead are not recommended to abraded surfaces, in this instance, and particularly if a few drops of laudanum be added, the relief experienced is beyond all belief. Take lime water ------ 2 ounces Solution of subacetate of lead 20 drops Tincture of opium - - - - 1J drachm. The parts may be afterwards dressed with tincture of myrrh or tincture of benzoin, if the surface of the I i 146 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, wounds be clean; otherwise dress with the following ointment : Take ointment of yellow resin - - - - 1 ounce Ointment of nitric oxyde of mercury 2 drachms. Mix, and apply it, either on lint or soft linen. When fungus or proud flesh arises, the place may then be dressed with tincture of myrrh, and a bandage rather tightly applied. When the sore is foul it should be poulticed till it cleans, and then the ointment or tinctures used as dressing, as may appear requisite. It has been asserted, but with what truth we know not, that chilblains may be prevented in those most disposed to them in winter, by rubbing the feet and hands with strawberries when that fruit is in season ; or by washing them with alum-water, as already ob- served, at the beginning of winter. Rubbing the parts as soon as the tingling and itching are felt, as recom- mended some years ago by Mr. Forsyth, in his valuable "Manual of Domestic Medicine," with spirits of tur- pentine, as follows Trrr. Take Spirits of turpentine, 2 ounces, Yolk of egg, enough, ^ Beat up the egg and turpentine together; then add, gradually, and keep stirring Infusion of oak bark, 4 ounces, This is directed to be used cold, morning and evening, after the tepid bath, when chilblains first begin to be felt a time at which they ought more particularly not to be neglected. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 147 Warm spirits of rosemary, or spirits of camphor, are / also useful at this time. Those who are most liable to chilblains, should on the approach of winter cover the parts most subject to be affected with woollen gloves and stockings, and not expose the hands and feet too precipitately to wet or cold ; or as before observed, to a considerable degree of heat. Old people and children are more apt to be troubled with chilblains than those of the middle age ; and those of a scrofulous habit are observed to suffer severely from them. We shall now turn our attention to the nails, the ornamental appendages of the fingers and hand. CHAP. XXIV. THE NAILS. A well-grown and symmetrically formed nail is not without its beauty ; but, like the hands, according to the station in life, they are subject to a variety of vicis- situdes. The shape of the nails depends principally on the attention bestowed upon them in the act of cutting or trimming them. If they be kept too short, the nail becomes gradually detached from the finger, and grows L 2 148 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, shorter and shorter, till at length it becomes entirely deformed. With those who have contracted the dis- gusting habit of biting their nails, this happens more particularly. The nails ought to be cut down no lower than the top of the finger, in an uniform circular manner. The root of the nail is the whitish crescent partly covered with skin. Sometimes the nails are entirely covered with it ; and when such is the case, this ex- crescence, which alters the form of the nail, and makes it appear shorter, must be removed with a sharp pen- knife. To give a fine colour to the nails, the hands and fingers must be well lathered and washed in scented soap ; then the nails rubbed with equal parts of cin- nabar and emery, and afterwards with oil of bitter almonds. By continuing this practice for a few days, the nails will be rendered smooth and transparent. The same effects may be produced by washing the nails with white horehound water ; then rubbing them with Cyprus powder ; and afterwards rubbing them a second time with the water of white horehound. _ When the bad colour of the nails is occasioned by some internal vice, the cause must first be attacked. In jaundice, for instance, the nails take on a yellow colour, which it would be in vain to attempt to correct by external applications. * There are sometimes white specks seen upon the nails, called gifts. These mav be removed by the fol- lowing preparation : BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 149 Melt equal parts of pitch and turpentine in a small vessel : add to it vinegar and powdered sulphur. Apply this mixture to the nails, and the spots will soon dis- appear. Pitch and myrrh melted together may be used with equal success. The nail sometimes turns hlack from coagulated blood, the consequence of a bruise. It may be removed by paring away the nail a little at the place, and apply- ing to it any kind of spirituous liquor. Nails that are bent back owe this deformity to excess of dryness, or moisture, or flexibility arising therefrom. In the first case, endeavours must be made to restore them to their proper position by softening them with unctuous sub- stances, such as linseed oil or goose-grease, assisting the action of these applications by scraping the nail with a piece of glass. If the defect be the consequence of too great a degree of softness or flexibility, the nails may be hardened by the following composition : Take Mastic oil - - - - ounce Muriate of soda - - \ drachm Resin ----- 2 scruples Alum ----- 2 scruples. Mix altogether in an earthen pipkin, and make an ointment of them with a little bees wax ; rub it on the nails. Urjeven nails may be smoothed by scraping them with a piece of glass, and afterwards polishing and rubbing them with a little wax. When the skin is too dry, or after handling coarse substances, small fibres 150 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, rise up from the root of the nails, these should never be pulled out, but invariably snipped off with sharp- pointed scissors. It is necessary sometimes to wash the hands with unctuous pastes (see Hands) in order to correct the state of the skin. The nails of both fingers and toes are liable to drop off from various causes, such as intense cold, a severe wound or blow, and other causes. In order to promote their return, wax and yellow arsenic mixed together have most injudiciously, nay, ignorantly, been recommended. Others direct that, in addition to this dangerous pro- cess, the finger should be held for a considerable time in a decoction of frankincense and roots of reeds in white wine. All these are superfluous, the nails will regenerate without any external application further than protecting them by means of a piece of soft rag and a finger-stall from the action of the air. The greatest enemy to the nails, though compara- tively of rare occurrence, is whitlow, which, if not reduced by proper and timely attention, destroys the root of the nail. Prompt surgical assistance in such cases is requisite to prevent the sufferer from the ultimate consequences. OBS. The beauty of the nails consists in having them of a well-proportioned size and length, curved from side to side, transparent, and of a light red colour; their surface should be smooth and polished, and the roots apparent. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 151 CHAP. XXV. THE FEET AND TOES. CORNS AND BUNIONS. A well-proportioned foot and leg are ornaments of which nature is by no means too profuse. The beauty of the feet does not, as generally considered, depend upon their smallness, and on their form: they must also be well placed ; and it is only in infancy that any remedy can be applied to correct their mal-conformation. Shoes too narrow or too short, disfigure and destroy the beauty of the feet. This practice is the principal cause of corns and bunions, and cannot be too carefully avoided. The shoes ought to be of the size of the foot, they should also be accommodated to the degree of motion or exercise, and to the nature of the soil and place, in which they are to be worn. A shoe that is bigger than the foot prevents a firm step ; and one which is too narrow occasions pain and troublesome corns. Many volumes have been written on the art of shoeing that noble animal, the horse; it is con- sidered as a fundamental rule in farriery, that the shoe must be neither smaller nor larger than the hoof, and yet people can submit to squeeze their feet into a narrower compass than is intended bv nature. 152 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The constant use of boots contracts the size of the legs, particularly the calves. How frequently do we smile at the Chinese and Circassians, who, from a tyrannical custom, compress their feet, that they may remain small and crippled. Yet these feeble Orientals proceed more rationally in this practice, than their European rivals. They begin it gradually, and from tlje earliest infancy. We do not think of contracting the feet of our children till they have almost attained the natural size, and then endeavour to counteract the process of nature. Were the feet not cased up as they usually are, the knees would be more flexible, the toes more pliable, more useful and better adapted to execute the various motions of the feet. The numerous nerves crossing the feet in every direction, plainly evince that nature has endowed them with peculiar powers, of which we can scarcely form an adequate conception. The untutored Indian, or the wild African, excels not only the enlightened European, but likewise the lower animals, in running, leaping, and, in short, in swift- ness and agility of every kind, where muscular motion is required. Either of them would laugh heartily at us, that we are obliged to employ professional ope- rators for extracting corns, and to contrive ointments and plasters for the cure of those evils, which we have wantonly brought on ourselves. Nature has designed the toes to be as movable as the fingers. Those unfortunate creatures who are born without hands, learn to perform with the toes, the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 153 most astonishing feats ; to write, and cut pens, to sew, draw in short, to supply almost completely the want of hands. Nearly nine-tenths of mankind are troubled with corns ; a disease that is seldom or never occasioned but by strait shoes ; and it may be added, that the remain- ing tenth part do not envy their fellow-creatures for this modern improvement. The shoes formerly worn, but now out of fashion, showed people's good sense, and their attention to health and comfort. Those who wear small and short shoes are and ever will be exposed to many disappointments and inconveniences, by being deprived of both exercise and pleasure ; independent of predisposing them to gout and rheumatism and dropsy. Many people, in fine, by wearing short and cramped shoes have been deprived of the use of their legs; and the pain of the more virulent species of corns, as well as of the nails, when grown into the flesh, from the same cause, is most excruciating. Among the inconveniences attending the feet, a most disagreeable one is constant, profuse perspira- tion, and more so than when this exudation affects the hands, because it is often accompanied with an unpleasant odour, which is not perceived in the latter. It would, nevertheless, be extremely dangerous to check this foetid perspiration all at once by very astringent baths, though it may be gradually diminished and removed by proper attention to cleanliness. To remedy this, the feet may be daily washed with cold 154 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, water, into which a little vinegar may be put; the stockings changed every day, and the use of cotton or thread ones, instead of those made of worsted. In the morning the feet may be well rubbed with a dry cloth, and afterwards with a few drops of brandy. Friction on the soles of the feet is very advantageous ; but on account of the great number of highly sensible nerves in them, such practice must not be carried to excess. A proper degree of warmth and perspiration in the feet is always a favourable symptom of health. Besides they should be often bathed in cold, or which is still better, in lukewarm water, well rubbed, and the nails constantly cut. There will then be no danger of the nails growing into the flesh, or of corns or other callocities growing on the feet. All methods of extracting corns seem but to afford temporary relief, and never will be attended with com- plete success unless attention be paid to the shoes. It is very dangerous to cut corns too deep, on account of the multiplicity of nerves running in every direction of the toes. * Easy shoes, frequent bathings of the feet in lukewarm water, with a little salt and pot-ash dis- solved in it, and a plaster made of equal parts of gum galbanum, saffron, and camphor, are the best remedies that can be recommended against this troublesome complaint. Mr. Lawrence, surgeon to Bartholomew's hospital, gives the following directions for the removal of corns, bunions, and warts. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 135 " If you cut away the thickened cuticle, and then cover the part over with soap plaster spread on leather, and direct the patient to wear large and soft shoes, great relief will be experienced, and the cuticle will re- cover its natural texture. If, however, considerable inconvenience be still experienced, you may proceed to a further measure for a more effectual remedy ; that is, after shaving away, as nearly as possible, all the dead parts that are about the surface, rub the surface (of the corn, bunion or wart) over with lunar caustic, and then, perhaps, you will have no re-accumulation, if you avoid external and exciting causes : at all events, this simple process will afford the patient a very great alle- viation of his sufferings." The bunion is produced by the same cause as the corn the irritation of which, namely pressure, being extended to the cellular substance, occasions thickening of it with effusion. The treatment recommended for corns will succeed in case^ of bunions, but in conse- quence of the greater ^tension of the disease the cure of course is more tediour> There are various applications directed upon equivo- cal, or at least random authority, which it is unnecessary to notice ; we have laid down the cause, prevention, and treatment considered by the faculty as the most eligible consequently the most safe and successful. 156 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAP. XXVI. THE SHAVING TOILETTE. A^good razor and razor-strop are the essential requi- sites connected with the apparatus of the shaving toilette. Warm water is the best and most general menstruum for forming a lather. Those who have hard, thick, and strong beards ought to wash the parts to be shaved previously with hot water and soap, then lather the chin afterwards ; by adopting this plan they would shave much better and easier. The razor ought to be invariably dipped in warm water, and well dried, and even passed once or twice over the smooth side of the strop after it has been used, and put carefully away in a dry place. It will then be found fit for use on the next occasion. A piece of soft linen rag is the best thing to wipe a razor with, as well as on, during its use ; paper is apt to injure the fine edge requisite for the removal of the beard. Some use cold water in preference to warm. Where the beard is soft it may be .immaterial, though warm water is preferable, both as regards the operation of the razor and the sensations of the individual being shaved. Where the chin is tettery or scurfy, or there are scaly BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 15 or scorbutic eruptions on the site of the beard, they should be frequently fomented with warm water, and the following lotion often applied : Lime water - - - - 4 ounces Oxymuriate of quicksilver 1 grains Rose water - - - - 2 ounces. This will give the lime water a yellow colour. A few doses of cooling aperient medicine may accompany the use of it ; and until the chin gets well, the razor ought to be laid aside, and a pair of sharp scissors use/ 1 to cut the beard as close as possible without injury to the skin. Chemistry has of late years produced many marvel- lous effects in all our domestic affairs, and is certainly well fitted, when it becomes further diffused among the better classes of people, to produce many more. Some few years ago it might have been considered a gross misdemeanour for a man of science to inquire into the art of shaving, or to have suggested any thing to im- prove it ; but now, if we are not greatly mistaken, it would immortalize the most distinguished philosopher to make any useful or important discovery in the art, or to establish it on scientific principles. Till some great, but hitherto unknown article, makes better advances, we will endeavour in the mean time to fill up the chasm with such hints and improvements which have either been supplied us, or have occurred within our expe- rience and observation. The first thing necessary to be done, in order to ren- 158 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, der the hair of the beard easy to be cut, is to make it hard, crisp, and brittle ; for you may as well think of cutting moist paper smoothly with a pair of scissors, as of shaving your beard while the hair is soft and oily. But it is the chemical nature of all hair to be more or less oily, as oil forms one of its main ingredients, which is readily seen on burning it, and this is farther augmented by the greasy secretions of the skin. Were you to shave dry, or with plain water, the razor, in consequence of what has been stated, would only enter it about half way, and instead of cutting directly through it, would bend the hair and slice it in the length, and in this manner dragging it outwards from the root, would cause a similar pain to that of pulling off the skin. When the razor is thus employed in shaving and pulling two or three hundred hairs at once, the operation must have all the characters of flaying alive. The longer the beard has been suffered to grow, the longer, of course, will be the slice of the hair, and the greater the pain. In fine, it is upon this principle that the whole science of easy shaving is founded. The best means hitherto discovered for rendering the beard crisp and brittle, without injury to the skin, is the application of an alkali, which combines with the oil of the hair, and leaves only its hard fibre. Alkalies, however, in order to be fitted for shaving, must first be combined with some sort of oil, such as olive, as they would otherwise be too strong and injure the skin. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 159 About sixty parts of soda, sixty of olive oil, and thirty of water, is the composition of the best Spanish soap. Those who prefer the "Essence royale pour fair la Barbe." Or, Shaving Liquid, may prepare it for themselves, 200 per cent, cheaper than they can buy it, by dissolving a quantity of the best Spanish soap in spirits of wine, or any common spirit, when the liquid will be formed, of a fine trans- parency, and of a somewhat gelatinous consistence. Transparent Soap. This may be made by slowly and carefully evaporating the above solution, which will leave a beautiful mass of pure soap. It is not indeed so cheap, but it pleases the fancy of some better than articles procured at less ex- pense. The more creamy the lather is, and the less watery and frothy, the better; as in that state the alkali is in a fitter state for crisping the beard, but this can only be done with very hot water. Hones and Razor Strops. The fineness of the edge of a razor is by most people injured or destroyed by the use of bad strops, so that they can never shave with ease or comfort. The hone, or razor stone, ought to be constantly kept moist with oil. Soap, once proposed for giving a fine edge, is not so good as seaj oil, and is only recommendable as a 160 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, substitute in the absence of the latter. When the razor has been finely honed, the finest and most elastic strop only should be used. An excellent substitute for a well-prepared strop is the hand, moistened with its natural oil. Accidents from Shaving. A clean shave is a great luxury : it is necessary to health, and a mark of cleanliness which ought never to be found wanting. An unshorn chin has a degene- rating aspect, and only, if at all, excusable in the lowest labourer and mechanic for the infrequency of its re- moval. There are many slight and apparently trifling diseases, which, through neglect or irritation from inat- tention, put on all the threatening and malignant form of cancer or mortification. The following useful remarks on this subject, by Mr. Earle, one of the surgeons of St. Bartholomew's hospital, may operate as a caution to others. A patient of Mr. Earle's cut himself while shaving, and probably he had divided, obliquely, some of the hairs, near the roots, which continued to grow; but not finding a proper passage through the skin, they coiled up beneath it, and formed several very painful pimples, that put on a very angry and ulcerated appear- ance, and unless the roots of the hairs had been care- fully extracted, they might have ended in a fatal cancer. Mr. E. observed that many such cases arise from the irritation of shaving, and the patients usually refer to a BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 161 slight cut, a scratch, from a blunt or foul razor. A wound thus made is irritated and aggravated every time the patient shaves; or, if not, the hair being allowed to grow, gets matted together, and prevents the application of proper remedies. The hair, conse- quently, is properly directed to be cut close by means of a pair of very delicate scissors ; and if the wound does not improve, but continues foul and spreading, cut, out all the diseased part with the knife, or burn it out with caustic, as a little pain, at first, is better than running the hazard of an incurable cancer. The older the patient the greater the danger, as cancer seldom attacks the young. There is often much inconvenience and no little danger, from cutting or scratching a mole or wart, as well as from the injudicious cutting of a corn, particularly with people advanced in years. 162 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAP. XXVII. ABLUTION BY MEANS OF THE BATH, ETC.-THE WARM BATH, A COSMETIC, ETC. THE use of the bath was general among the Greeks and among the Romans; and to this salutary habit Baglivi ascribes the long and vigorous lives of the ancients. If we compare the manner of living of the Romans with that of our own at the present day, it will be seen how much nearer theirs approached to nature, and how much more favourable it was to health. With the Romans, the afternoon was entirely devoted to cor- poreal exercise, to tennis ball, dancing, or walking. But at the hour of three, every one hastened to the bath; neither could a person neglect this practice without incurring the risk of being taxed with shame- ful negligence. It was at the bath where persons of all ranks met ; it was here the poets recited their composi- tions ; and here they laid the foundation of their fame. Physicians, though universally agreed concerning the utility of the bath, are not unanimous as to the manner of using it. Some have cried up the warm, others the cold bath. The debilitating and relaxing nature of hot baths, and the bracing and strengthening effects of cold ones, were long maintained. A great revolution has, however, been most beneficially introduced into this BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 163 theory : for it has been proved that hot baths, so far from debilitating, tend on the contrary, to brace the system, when the temperature of the water is not higher than that of the body ; and this opinion is admitted by most modern physicians ; and, so far from being a new one, the ancient physicians held the same opinion rela- tive to hot baths that we entertain at the present day. The hot baths were dedicated to Hercules the god of strength, and the Romans made daily use of them. And experience has proved that the praises lavished upon the cold bath have been greatly exaggerated ; though they unquestionably possess many advantages in peculiar cases and constitutions, and then only under certain prescribed restrictions. Ladies desirous of pre- serving their beauty, very seldom use the cold bath, unless it be directed by the physician as a means of restoring health. And considered as a cosmetic, the cold bath possesses no virtue whatever ; it renders the skin hard and scaly ; and this induration of the skin may prove injurious to health, by checking too sud- denly the insensible perspiration. Warm baths contribute greatly to the preservation of the complexion, by giving freshness and an exquisite colour to the skin. Hippocrates recommends the washing of children with warm water, to protect them from convulsions, to facilitate their growth, and to heighten their colour.* Persons who are very weak, * "Bathing refreshens and invigorates the organs of the skin, which, by the common treatment of children, may soon M 2 164 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, and whose humours are agitated by fever or by passion r should not bathe; and when the body is too much heated, or covered with perspiration, the bath is not advisable. Baths, if too hot, would produce an effect opposite to what is expected from them ; and like such as are too cold, they would injure the texture of the skin, render cease to perform their offices, in consequence of becoming either too soft or too irritable. A child therefore will reap a benefit from regular bathing ; which, at the present time, is by far too much overlooked. In fact, diseases of the skin arising from flaccidity, and many other causes, will be pre- vented by it ; and those that are unavoidable, such as measles, small pox, &c., considerably mitigated. The tem- perature of the bath most healthy for children is between 86 and 95 degrees of Fahrenheit (a little below blood warmth). The effect of the tepid bath is an uniform circulation and distribution of the fluids, which indeed is exactly what is required. Children therefore should be bathed in tepid water ; somewhat cooler for strong children, and warmer again for those that are of a weakly constitution ; but in pro- portion to their increasing in strength, the degree of warmth should always be diminished. ' In summer/ says Hufeland, ' the water should be exposed the whole of the day to the sun, which imparts to it the most agreeable and most refresh- ing warmth." Rain or river water, is to be preferred ; if spring water only can be procured, either warm milk should be added to it, or water boiled with two or three drachms of soap and some bran in it. I expressly advise that all the water should not be boiled, lest it lose too much of that air upon which its effect, in some measure, depends." See Mother's Medical Pocket-book. By J. S. FORSYTH, Surgeon* BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 165 i't hard and dry, and impair the strength. The warm bath recruits the strength exhausted by fatigue, dilates the pores of the skin, and facilitates the circulation.* Besides the simple baths, there are likewise com- pound and aromatic baths for the toilette namely such to which certain substances are added to augment their energy, or to communicate new properties. A little soap may be added to the water; it then acts with more success, and more effectually purifies the skin. On leaving the bath, females, mbre especially those who have delicate skins, should dry themselves with precaution, if they be at all desirous that it should pre- serve its softness and beauty. Some women have the skin covered with small tubercles ; such ought to use a sponge in preference to a towel, for friction cannot fail to take off the epidermis at the top of these tubercles, which would render the skin still rougher, and more uneven. The use of oil after bathing, makes the skin more soft and supple, prevents the contact of the air, and thus protects it against the influence of that ele- ment, so destructive to the most perfect charms. In England and many parts of Europe, the bath * By the cold bath is meant every degree ef cold under 85, which always proves more or less tonic in its operation. In many cases where the patient is too weak to bear a bath of 40, one of 65 acts like a charm ; thus rheumatism is be- nefited by whatever strengthens the system, and particularly the skin. A bath from 90 to 100, is a tepid bath. Every degree above 100, is a hot bath. 166 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, cannot be used so frequently as health, cleanliness, and the preservation of beauty might require. How many females are there, whose avocations would suffer by a daily absence of too great length ! how many would find it difficult to make even the little pecuniary sacri- fice which this part of the toilette demands! such persons may make amends by particular ablutions, which require neither care nor expense, nor loss of time. Of these consist bathing the feet, washing the hands and face, and other parts of the body. We shall here describe some of the principal toilette baths, that is, such as those into which emollient or aromatic herbs are introduced ; and which perfume the skin and render it soft and more supple. The women of Egypt add borax to give it more lustre. An Aromatic Bath. In a sufficient quantity of river water, boil, for the space of two or three minutes, one or more of the fol- lowing aromatic herbs: anise; clove; July-flowers; balm ; basil, sweet ; bastard marjoram ; fennel ; hyssop ; laurel ; lavender ; rosemary ; wild thyme ; wild mint ; or any other herbs that have an agreeable scent. Having strained off the liquor from the herbs, add to it a little brandy or camphorated spirits of wine. OBS. This is said to be an excellent bath to strengthen the limbs ; it removes pain, the consequence of cold, and promotes perspiration. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 167 An Aromatic Bath for the Feet. Take penny-royal, sage, and rosemary, four handsful, angelica three handsful ; juniper berries, four ounces : boil these ingredients in a sufficient quantity of water, and strain off the liquor for use at the requisite tem- perature. An Emollient Bath for the Feet. Boil, in a sufficient quantity of water, a pound of bran, with a few marshmallow roots, and two or three handsful of mallow leaves. A Cosmetic Bath. Take two pounds of barley, or bean flour, or meal ; eight pounds of bran, and a few handsful of borage leaves. Boil these ingredients in a sufficient quantity of spring water. This both cleanses and softens the skin in a superior degree. But the most celebrated baths are those of asses' milk. The ancient authors have immortalized the memory of the fifty-three she-asses, which for this purpose, accompanied the train of the celebrated Paphaea. A bath, called the Bath of Modesty, has long been extolled. It possesses, it is said, the same properties as the bath of asses' milk, which would be very expensive, and is made as follows : Take four ounces of sweet almonds peeled ; one pound of pine-apple kernels, and one pound of elicam- 168 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, pane, ten handsful of linseed, one ounce of roots of marshmallows, and one ounce of lily roots. ' These various ingredients are directed to be pounded altogether in a large marble mortar, and made into a paste, and tied up in thin little bags, to be thrown into the water of the bath, and emptied by compression. OBS. This bath of modesty, says a French writer, (Moreau de la Sarthe) may be made in a more simple manner. Nothing more being necessary than to take a quantity of paste of almonds, sufficient to colour the water, and to give it a milky appearance. It is true, indeed, that of all received practices none has a more decided influence upon health as well as beauty, than the frequent use of the bath. It has been remarked, that the nations among whom it was the most common were particularly distinguished for phy- sical perfection, and the most regular flow of health, and in the Eastern nations the luxury of the bath ranks among those of the most exquisite enjoyment. Bathing may also be considered as an excellent specific for alleviating both mental and bodily afflictions. It is not merely a cleanser of the skin, enlivening and rendering it more fit for performing its offices ; but it also re- freshens the mind, and spreads over the whole system a sensation of ease, activity, and agreeableness. A person fatigued, or distressed in body and mind, will derive more refreshment from the luxury of a lukewarm bath, and may drown his disquietude in it more effectually, than by indulging in copious libations to the Rosy god. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. CHAP. XXVIII. THE ECONOMY OF DRESS. As regards the various articles of dress, on which health, comfort, and fashion depend, attention must necessarily be paid to the substance of which they are made, as well as the form in which they are required to he made. Modes of clothing, in fine, may occasion inconvenience, disease, and death 1, When we attempt by it to im- prove some supposed defect of the body which cannot be done without injury; and 2, When it consists of improper substances, whether used from necessity, or in compliance with fashion and caprice. The general properties of a good dress are the following : 1. That it be not so hard and unpliable, as to obstruct the free and easy motion of the joints, and be uncomfortable either from its weight or tightness. 2. That it preserve the body in that degree of temperature which is most agreeable, as well as most suitable to the dif- ferent functions and motions in a healthy state ; and 3. That it produce no detrimental effects, either by in- creasing perspiration in an unnecessary degree, or too much absorbing the vapours of the atmosphere. The property of receiving, repelling, and emitting heat and cold, depends not only on the substance from 170 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, which our dress is made, and its shape or form, but also on the colour; clothes of a light colour have the least attraction for heat, consequently are the most proper in hot weather. Substances of a very smooth and shiny surface, strongly reflect the rays of the sun, which cannot penetrate through them ; hence, in hot climates, the advantage of hats covered with oil-skin, particularly of a green or white colour, of smooth and shining shoes, glazed gowns, and the like. Dazzling colours are offensive; and a person who suffers from weak eyes, will injure them still more by wearing crimson or scarlet, or being much in company with others thus dressed. For a similar reason, splendid white dresses, steel buttons (now little worn), gold and silver lace, and all ornaments of this kind, are detri- mental to vision. Animal Wool. Articles of dress composed of this substance produce moderate warmth, owing to the stimulus and gentle friction it occasions on the skin. By its use, animal electricity is elicited, perspiration promoted, the per- spired humours are absorbed, and again easily evapo- rated, on account of its porous properties. Linen Cloth diminishes the elasticity of the skin, increases the internal warmth, and at the same time, from its com- pactness, too readily retains the perspirable humours, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 171 and does not part with them so easily as wool. Soiled shirts, therefore, produce a disagreeable cooling sensa- tion, and obstruct perspiration, especially if made of thick strong cloth, and not regularly changed. SILK occasions a gentle stimulus, but does not suffi- ciently promote perspiration, though it attracts less humidity from the atmosphere than linen. OIL-SKIN, or WAX-CLOTH, increases perspiration in an uncommon degree, but does not suffer it to evaporate again, and is, therefore, only admissible in certain diseases. COTTON may be considered as an intermediate sub- stance between animal wool and linen; it increases warmth and perspiration, imbibes and retains the perspired humours, to the injury of the wearer, and, like wool, readily attracts infectious matter. All kinds of fur are more noxious than useful, both with respect to their structure and constitution. The grand object, therefore, is to choose a dress agreeable to the season and weather, as well as to con- stitution of the body. Woollen clothes are the most proper in spring, autumn, and winter; because they moderately warm the body, do not weaken it by the abstraction of too many exhalations, and have the fewest points of contact, or; in short, do not attach so close to the body as any other materials of dress. In summer, most people are accustomed to wear thin clothes, which are scarcely proper in our changeable climate. During the summer season, it is not advisable 172 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, to take much exercise in thin dresses, particularly in the heat of the day. Nor in the morning should such clothes be worn, when the air is cool, and the pores of the skin have been dilated by the warmth of the bed but still less in the evening, when the heat of the day has so much opened them, that perspiration may be easily checked, and health materially injured. In our variable climate, it would be preferable to wear a species of dress which is nearly uniform in all seasons ; this, in fine, would be the most beneficial plan of ma- naging the body, with regard to the most important function namely, that of perspiration. Animal wool recommends itself as the most proper covering of the skin, and has most indisputable advan- tages over all other substances. First, because it is a slow conductor of external heat to the body, and the more easily attracts internal heat, and allows it to evaporate more readily, as it is more porous than any other texture. Secondly. A sultry atmosphere is ex- tremely troublesome, particularly where great heat is combined with moisture ; the humidity checking per- spiration, and at the same time, conducting too many aqueous particles to the absorbent vessels from without. Here then, flannel is of incomparable service, since it keeps the vessels of the skin constantly open, causes them to perspire freely, and admits but a very small degree of external moisture. Its good effect, however, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 173 consists in its gentle and beneficial stimulus, or that friction which it occasions on the skin, and by which it opens the pores. Another advantage which flannel possesses over linen and cotton is, that people perspiring profusely in flannel shirts, may safely venture into the open air, and will not easily catch cold, because flannel does not retain the perspired humours. Count Rumford, in one of his earlier essays, says, that he is convinced of the utility of flannel shirts at all seasons ; that he has worn them in all climates, in the warmest apartments, and during the most fatiguing exercise, without the least incon- venience. That he was relieved by the use of flannel from a pain in his breast which he had been frequently subject to, and never since knew an hour's illness; and that nothing exceeds the agreeable sensation of this dress, when once we are accustomed to it. Many des- perate diseases in the legs of the common people, many inflammations of the throat, breast, and lungs might be prevented, and numbers of lives saved, both of children and adults, if flannel were more generally worn. Chil- dren afflicted with rickets, cannot be better relieved than by a proper diet and flannel shirts. FEET. The feet ought to be kept warmer than other parts of the body ; and nothing is better adapted for this purpose than woollen stockings. They ought to be chosen thicker than those flannels used for shirts and drawers. For the same reason, it is proper to prevent all moisture from without by means of water-proof 174 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, shoes, provided with thick cork soles for the winter, or with elastic socks of horse-hair. HEAD. The well-known and excellent rule of keep- ing the head cool, and the feet warm, is too much neglected. In all countries, the man who lives at his ease, carefully covers his head with a warm night-cap ; he spends perhaps one-half of the day in this unnatural dress, and prepares his head for frequent colds, at every sudden change of temperature. Besides, weakness of the head, pains, eruptions, local congestions, or fulness of blood, loss of the hair, lethargy, and at length stupor or insanity, are too often the effects of such imprudence. In this temperate climate, youth may safely accustom themselves to go with the head uncovered ; but in very cold and hot countries, the head ought to be slightly covered, to shelter it from cold, or from the still more dangerous vertical rays of the sun. New-born children and those of very delicate constitutions, require only an easy and moderately warm covering for the head, and this chiefly during the first week, on account of the softness of their cranium, which is thin, but imper- fectly ossified. To go with the head uncovered in sunshine, is cer- tainly improper both for children and adults. A hat ought indeed to shelter the eyes from a too vivid light ; from the present mode of hats it would appear that the brim is to be entirely lost in the stupendous conical shape of the body, without regard to this necessary and salutary protection from sun, wind, dust, and rain. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 175 EAR. A properly expanded ear, not only strengthens the perception of sound, but likewise preserves this useful sense to a great age, when the muscles of the internal ear become relaxed. CHAP. XXIX. NECKCLOTHS STOCKS- NECKLACES. LIGATURES of this description are frequently worn so tight as to impede the free circulation of the blood to and from the head, occasioning head-aches, faintings, and disposition to apoplexy, corrosive ulcers of the skin, and various other maladies. All coverings of the neck ought to be worn loose. Necklaces and ribbons are frequently tied so tight as to threaten strangulation in the least extraordinary exer- tion. The neck and throat being alternately expanded and contracted in speaking, chewing, and swallowing, it is the highest degree of imprudence, not to say igno- rance, to obstruct the free motion of these vital channels. Tight stocks are no less injurious. By the use of these, people have induced apoplectic symptoms ; for on turn- ing the neck when the body stands fixed, diminishes the 176 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, diameter of the jugular veins so much that a propor- tionate quantity of blood cannot be returned from the vessels of the head and brain. Neckcloths or cravats loosely tied, and not too thick, with the shirt collar free and easy, are therefore the only proper ones for men ; and as regards women and children, the throat should be perfectly disencumbered. Stays too tightly laced occasion obstructions in women, abdominal enlargement, and numerous other inconve- niences which affect the general health, that are neither soon nor easily restored if continued too long. The desire of having a fine shape, has sent many a fine female to a premature grave. Diseases of the breast, external callosities, and cancer itself, are the frequent consequences of tight lacing. The ribs are compressed, the spine is distorted, and the free expansion of the lungs is prevented; hence shortness of breath, in- durations and tubercles of the lungs, cramp in the stomach, defective digestion, nausea, irregularity in the secretory and other organs. Narrow sleeves in gowns and coats, tight wristbands and collars in shirts, bracelets, and garters, occasion a swelling of the veins, rigidity and weakness of the nerves and joints. Boots, if too tight, and made of thick leather, are so injurious to health, and so troublesome in walking, that no reasonable being could be inclined to subject himself to such torture. Our feet, no doubt, would be more comfortable, easy and useful, if we were not at BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 177 the greatest pains, by wearing short shoes, to deprive them of their elasticity and vigour. In fine, those who are regardless of the pain and trouhle occasioned by corns, bunnions, and other excrescenses those who wish to convert their feet and toes into so many baro- meters to indicate the present state, and to foretell the future change of the weather, will not fail to contract with his shoemaker to save as much leather as possible, but he is none the less to be pitied for his imprudence. A convenient shoe ought to be somewhat round at the toes, of sufficient length, thick soles, and a soft and pliable upper leather. If there be a deficiency of any of these requisites, the skin will be rendered hard, the perspiration, indispensable to these parts, stopped ; warts and corns will shoot up in luxuriant crops ; the toe nails will grow into the flesh, and the whole body will sympathize with the local affliction. All tight ligatures or pressure of any kind applied to the body interupt the circulation ; collars and wristbands of shirts, garters, stays, waistbands, cravats, and even hats, ought to fit and sit easy. Those who have short necks, high shoulders, and contracted breasts, as well as those who are of a florid complexion, stout and ple- thoric, cannot be too attentive to this advice ; the neck of such will predispose, if it do not actually bring on apoplexy. Also on retiring to rest, by day or night, all ligatures above mentioned should be undone. 178 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAPTER XXX. THE GRACES. " Grace was in all her steps." MILTON. LORD Chesterfield's opinion was, that the Graces were useful to a man in advancing him in the world, and we believe he thought very right. This nohle author talks so much and so often of those " amiable somethings," that his reader at last falls in love with them: he wishes to possess them ; and then thinks of asking himself what they are. There his lordship foils his reader : he has not explained them, nor has he shown how they are to be acquired. He calls them a " Je ne sai quoi which charm ; indefinable somethings which enchant." These phrases may be pretty, but they con- vey no idea. " I cannot see," says the Rev. Mr. Sherlock, " what a man can find who looks for ' he don't know what.' " All grace consists in motion. The great secret of it is to many two apparent contradictions; to unite in the same movement quickness and softness, vivacity and mildness, gentleness and spirit.* * Shakspeare, who saw every thing, saw this too. When Hamlet gives rules to the players for graceful action, he BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 179 If softness become slowness, it is languid and dull. If liveliness be not attempered with gentleness, it be- comes violence or levity. Every violent movement is ungracious;* and levity touches near upon ridicule. The union of those two requisites is necessary in dancing, walking, bowing, talking, carving, presenting or receiving any thing, and, if we may venture to add, in smiling. Ease is the essence of grace : but all motions, quick and smooth, will necessarily be easy and free. When Milton describes the grace of an angel, it is "smooth- sliding without step;'' and Gurdo's angels, who are as graceful as Taglioni, seem to have been painted after Milton's description. The seat of grace is, in all parts of the body that have motion, as the legs, hands, arms, head, lips, eye-brows, but particularly in the neck. As the head is almost continually in motion, to have it move with freedom and ease, the muscles of the neck ought to be extremely supple. This suppleness is ac- quired by practice. The women of France possess it in a higher degree than those of any other country I know. A French woman, sitting between two men, will address the same phrase to both of them, by a free says " and in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must beget a temperance that may give it smoothness use all gently be not too tame either/' * The Queen of England's countenance is as graceful as. it is gracious. N 2 180 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, and easy motion of her head, without ever moving her shoulders. Women of other countries cannot do that. When they turn the head, there is a stiffness in the joints or muscles of their necks, that makes them turn the whole body with it. Nothing was ever graceful that was forced or unnatu- ral. The smallest degree of affectation destroys grace : and hence the necessity of attending to that precious rule, " Rien de trop do not o'erstep the modesty of na- ture." Those who most frequently trespass against this precept are the people of the stage. They are almost all affected. Even the inimitable Vestris himself, the first dancer in the world, had his "ungraceful mo- ments." There is a point where grace stops ; beyond that point is affectation. To hit the happy mean is difficult in every thing ; perhaps in nothing more so in the arts than in this grace we are talking of. Its effect is so fine, and it is so sure of captivating every beholder, that all painters aim at it particularly. Few of them succeed Sir Joshua Reynolds better than any of his contemporaries or successors in the modern school : in- deed, in this particular, he seems not inferior to any painter in Italy. The most essential of all the graces, because the most useful, and of the greatest effect, is to speak. A s every motion of the body ought to be free from confusion, hurry, or embarrassment, and at the same time ani- mated and lively, so the movement of the tongue ought to be quick without precipitation, and soft without BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 181 monotony. * The persons who unite vivacity to soft- ness in their utterance must necessarily speak with ease, which, as already observed, is the very essence of grace : and affectation being the greatest enemy of the graces, simplicity is their best friend. * " If you wish to see the two strongest examples I know of each, look at an English nobleman and a Dutch Jew. These two characters are equally free from affectation ; but the difference between their air and carriage is greater than any words I am master of can express."* " Lord Chesterfield says, ' He can neither ascertain nor define the graces.' I cannot define them, but I think I have ascertained them ; and I cannot see that they are so very difficult to be acquired. Nature, it is true, must do something ; for there are people to whom it would be impossible to give grace, f and I believe Mr. Stanhope was one of them. However, where there not some unhappiness in a character, a good master, a little attention, and frequenting the best company, will give a young man every idea that I have mentioned in this letter ; and, I confess, I do not see that he can add another which would not be ridiculous or trifling." The Graces were unquestionably of Grecian extrac- tion. The Greeks had, of all people, the most beauti- * See letters by the Rev. Mr. Sherlock, vol. 2. t It is the same in classes of animals. No education could give grace to a wild boar or an elephant. There is not a more graceful creature than a high-bred horse that is well trained. 182 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, ful imagination. They produced the happiest and most perfect creatures that ever have been known ; and they embellished them when produced to the highest degree that pure and elegant taste would admit. The first point in taste, invention, grace, and every thing else, is good sense ; and on this ground work are all the in- ventions of the Greeks founded. The original idea of their creature was always taken from nature, and founded on truth. Whenever they discovered a fertile and promising subject, they divided it into parts, and after they had cast away every thing belonging to it that was disagreeable or uninteresting, they beautified what remained to the highest degree of perfection. A beautiful and amorous princess, whose name was Venus, was born in one of the Greek islands. She had three amiable maids of honour who were sisters, and these were the Graces. This is all the foundation given by nature and truth; the Greek imagination created the rest. The poets first made this princess a divinity, and, to sublime their idea, fabled her sprung from the ocean. It is unnecessary to repeat all that has been said of her. The painters of Greece then painted her from imagination. Bu^ alas! canvass is perishable ; and these pictures are no longer to be seen. One portrait, however, of her fortunately still remains that is, one good likeness ; for there are innumerable Venuses; but the Venus of Medici is the only one which fills the imagination at once with an idea of Greek genius, and of perfect beauty ! The author of BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 183 tills statue said to himself, " I have a goddess to create, and that goddess is the goddess of Love. She must be a perfect beauty. But no such being has ever existed. I have no resource left but to create her myself." He then studied, in the most beautiful women of his coun- try, the parts in which each particular woman *xcelled. He saw what constituted a perfect foot, a hand and arm, a neck and bosom; and after he had made him- self master of each part, he, by a single effort of genius, combined them with the justest symmetry into a perfect whole. As happy an idea as ever entered into an artist's head, and as difficult to execute. Beauty was evidently the first idea for the goddess of love. But beauty alone, this refined Greek knew well, was insipid without grace, and uninteresting without character. His next thought, consequently, was, that by showing his divinity in a happy moment, he would make grace, expression, character, all spring from that moment in so easy a manner, that it should appear to have cost no effort ; and in so natural a manner, that it should seern impossible to have found another. He seizes her then in the instant she rises from the sea, and throwing himself, as it were, into her soul, he dis- covers in her countenance what must have been its first emotion.: It is that of modesty. " There is the charac- ter at once determined expression given to the statue all the parts disposed of with decency and propriety; and to render his production perfect, the whole convey- 184 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, ing a refined and elegant moral, " that love can only be inspired l>y the union of beauty with modesty." This is a great excellency in the Greek artists oi every kind they have always a moral. They have too a happiness in choosing a moment to show an object, of which other artists have scarcely thought. They snatched the " nice point of time," in which, whatever they had to exhibit, was to be seen to the greatest ad- vantage. They carried this attention, as well as that of character, even to animals. The head of the boar at Meleager's feet is that of a fierce savage, that deso- lated an entire country, and struck with terror all its inhabitants. Had they a stork to show? It is at the moment he is in conflict with a serpent, which twists itself in the most natural and graceful writhings about the neck of its feathered enemy. Was an eagle to be their subject? He is shown at the instant he is going to dart from a rock, and soar among the clouds. His air announces that he is the king of birds, and worthy to bear the thunderbolt of Jove. Whatever was the mo- ment of real life, in which an animal would most have interested a spectator, is invariably the moment in which the Greeks have chosen to exhibit it. To return to the Venus of Medici. Her character is female excellence itself. She seems " A maiden never bold, Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion Blush'd at itself." BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 185 The leading idea that characterizes this amiable group (the Graces), and which is implied in their name, is gaiety and good humour. They are always represented as young and handsome ; and their faces wear a perpetual smile. The particular ideas conveyed to us by their names, serve only to illustrate their gene- ral appellation. The youngest is called " Thalia," which signifies "a blooming girl ;" the second is named , " Euphrosyna," which signifies a "sprightly" one; and the eldest, who was to keep her sisters in order, is called " Aglaia,7 which means brilliancy, splendour, and neat- ness, but at the same time implies dignity and deco- rum. They are come down to us naked; but "that" our fair readers are not to be shocked at for they are to be considered entirely an allegorical group no ma- terial ideas about them at all. And the proof of this is, not one of the three had ever the least suspicion thrown out against her. This, considering the volup- tuousness of their climate, and the example of the sovereign, is a tolerable proof that they were rather spiritual than corporeal beings. The meaning of the Graces being naked is, that, like Truth, they should be simple and unadorned ; and that they should be frank and ingenuous, and show them- selves such as they were, without coquetry, dissimula- tion, or disguise. But their nakedness is as decent as nakedness can be ; for view them as much as you please, from the chin to the ancle, or from the " chignon" to the heel, they never excite any idea that can offend the 186 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, nicest delicacy. And hence it is, that Horace so often calls them the " decent Graces." They are joined hand in hand, to show that cheerfulness, vivacity, and youth, ought to be united with sincerity, candour, and deco- rum ; and to assure the beholder, that unless he pos- sesses "all" these qualities he cannot boast of being a favourite with the Graces. They are in motion, be- cause without motion there can be no grace. Their movements, you will see, are animated and soft; and the decided character of the whole group is a noble simplicity, and an unaffected modesty. The Greeks, then, conceived that beauty was neces- sary to inspire love ; but that the power of Venus was fleeting and transitory, unless she was attired and ac- companied by the Graces/ that is, unless ease and affability, gentleness and spirit, good humour, modesty, ingenuousness and candour, engaged the admirers that beauty attracted.* , * The three Graces are, to use the expression, united in the Venus di Medici. BEAUTY. AND FASHION. 187 CHAP, XXXII. FASHION AND DRESS. WHEREVER fashion presides, the satirist of every age will ever find an ample and varying fund for the exercise of his talent. Wherever this Proteus makes its appearance, like a deluge or a mountain cataract, it sweeps every thing before it. It shines in the drawing room, and leads the mode in Bond-street and the Mall. It dictates to the company in the Opera, and presides in the humbler routs at Wapping and Seven Dials. It prescribes grey powder for those that have black hair, or a leaden comb for such as have red. It gives complexion to the pale, and from the ruddy takes away the complexion they have already got. It gives sanc- tion to a stupid play, and damns an excellent one. It orders bonnets and turbans of monstrous magnitude for the ladies, and false collars and dickeys for the gentlemen. It lengthens or shortens the waists of the ladies, while it equally elongates or curtails the habits of their lords and masters. Sometimes it prescribes ringlets and small curls ; at others, toupees and French curls as broad as the wheels of a stage-waggon. It plays also with the hat, and predominates over the 188 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, colour as well as cut of a man's coat or his waist- coat; while every other article of dress is equally suspended on the nod of this all-ruling deity. It orders some to dine when they ought to think of supper ; and to breakfast when they should dine. In short, fashion commands us to distrust our senses, yet prescribes the indulgence of sensual pleasures. Every institution, even those founded on the most permanent principles and laws, are subject to change ; but fashion, whose authority is derived from luxury, whims, and idleness, must vary with every " varying hour." As the face is the mirror of the soul, so dress is the index of the mind. Superfluity denotes either the pride or the extravagance of the wearer ; slovenliness betokens an indolent negligence ; and a whimsical habit is the mark of a capricious mind. To dress totally in opposition to the prevailing fashion is undoubtedly an error, since it is by the change of fashion that trade is supported; and setting ourselves up to oppose the general taste of the times is as great a proof of vanity and pride, as attempting to be the first who shall intro- duce a novelty. If it be owing to pride that many men make it their study constantly to appear on the tip of the mode, we must lay the same accusation against those who oppose it in the extreme. Have not the Quakers a peculiar pride in their dress, which seems uniformly to consist in varying from the modes of churchmen? It has constantly appeared to us as an established BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 189 truth, that every one dresses more to please others than himself, else why should almost every one be entirely regardless of what he wears in his own house, but always puts on something better when he goes abroad ; and that generally good in proportion to the company he expects to meet with ? Custom has made an attention to dress, in this metropolis, in some mea- sure indispensable. Whatever may be a man's fortune in life, should he step into a coffee-house or any of the public offices where he may not be known, if he is not dressed suitably to his character and the times, he will be treated with great indifference, perhaps with neglect and insult. What would half of our modern beaux do, were it not for the assistance of the tailor ? And here the following ditty, in commendation of the merchant- tailors' trade, chanted formerly in the great city pageants, supports our observation. It commences thus " Of all the professions that ever were named, The tailor's, though slighted, is much to be famed ; For various invention and antiquity, No trade with the tailor's compared may be : For warmth, and distinction, and fashion, he doth Provide for both sexes with silk, stuffs, and cloth. Then do not disdain him, or slight him, or flout him, Since (if well consider'd) you can't live without him. But let all due praises (that can be) be made, To honour and dignify the tailor's trade. " When Adam and Eve out of Eden were hurl'd, They were at that time king and queen of the world : Yet this royal couple were forced to play The tailors, and put themselves in green array ; 190 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, For modesty and for necessity's sake, They had figs for the belly and leaves for the back ; And afterwards clothing of sheepskins they made Then judge if a tailor was not the first trade ; The oldest profession ; and they are but railers Who scoff and deride men that only are tailors." The elegant air and make of a suit of clothes fre- quently pleads better with the fair than any thing the empty coxcomb can say for himself, who is perpetually consulting his pocket-glass to adjust a hair of his head that chance may have misplaced. Were we permitted to give our advice in this matter, it should be, neither to court nor despise fashions, but always to observe the medium, and avoid the extreme. Fashions have usually originated in some tempo- rising event ; for instance, after the battle of Steenkirk, where the allies wore large cravats, by which the French frequently seized hold of them, a circumstance perpetuated on the medals of Louis XIV. ; cravats were called Steenkirks; and after the battle of Ramillies wigs received that denomination. BEAUTY. AND FASHION. 191 CHAPTER XXXT. CONCLUDING ADVICE TO THE LADIES. THIS work was undertaken for the benefit of both sexes ; we shall therefore in common courtesy conclude it with a word of advice to the ladies, by recommend- ing to them a NEVER-FAILING BEAUTY WASH to be used the whole year round ; by those in particular who may be intent on improving their personal charms. This wash indeed is so perfectly innocent that it may be used with safety by both young and old; and will greatly illustrate and preserve the complexion of either male or female. Let then the ladies observe the following rules: in the morning use pure water as a preparatory ablu- tion : after which they must abstain from all sudden gusts of passion, particularly envy, as that gives the skin a sallow paleness. It may seem trifling to talk of temperance, yet must this be attended to, both in eating and drinking, if they would avoid those pimples, for which the advertised washes are a cure. Instead of rouge let them use moderate exercise, winch will raise 192 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, a natural bloom in their cheek, inimitable by art. Ingenuous candour, and unaffected good humour, will give an openness to their countenance that will make them universally agreeable. A desire of pleasing will add fire to their eyes, and breathing the morning air at sunrise will give their lips a vermilion hue. That amiable vivacity which they now possess, may be hap- pily heightened and preserved, if they avoid late hours and card playing, as well as novel reading by candle light, but not otherwise ; for the first gives the face a drowsy, disagreeable aspect, the second is the mother of wrinkles, and the third is a fruitful source of weak eyes and a sallow complexion. A white hand is a very desirable ornament ; and a hand can never be white unless it be kept clean ; nor is this all, for if a young lady would excel her compa- nions in this respect, she must keep her hands in con- stant motion, which will occasion the blood to circulate freely, and have a wonderful effect. The motion recommended, is working at her needle, brushing up the house, and twirling the distaff. It was this industry in our grandmothers which gave Kneller an opportunity of gratifying posterity with the view of so many fine hands and arms in his incomparable portraits. A few words more, and we have done. Let the ladies preserve an unaffected neatness in their apparel; even if their fortune would permit them to dress ele- gantly, their good sense should always prevent them from descending to gaudiness j which certainly strikes BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 193 the eye of the ignorant, but disgusts those of true taste and discernment: besides, where there are natural charms they ought not to be obscured by the blandishments of art. Many ladies possess more beauties than they are actually acquainted with, which is no small addition to their merit. APPENDIX. MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES FOR THE TOILETTE. 1. Eau de Cologne. THIS popular perfume may be made genuine as follows : Take Rectified spirits of wine - 6 pints Spirits of rosemary - - - 1| pint Eau de Melisse de Carmes 1 pint 2 oz. Essence of Neroli - - - 45 drops Essence of cedrat - - - 60 drops Essence of lemon - - - l drachm Oil of rosemary - - - - 1 drachm. Mix these ingredients, and distil in a water bath. Care must be taken in receiving the product ; and keep it for a short time previous to using it, in a cool cellar or ice-house. Its only use is as a perfume and flavoury essence. Its cosmetic powers are celebrated; and its use is said to render the face pale, and give the com- plexion an exsanguineous tint. It is in high repute on the continent : and that which is imported is frequently adulterated. APPENDIX. 195 2. A Kalydorfor the Complexion. Take Emulsion of bitter almonds - 1 pint Oxymuriate of quicksilver - 2 J pints Sal ammonia - - - - - 1 drachm. A wash for pimples, freckle-tanned complexions, or scurf on the skin. To be used moderately by means of a sponge, after washing the face and hands with soft- soap and warm water. 3. Bags to Scent Linen. Take rose leaves, dried in the shade ; cloves beat to a grass powder, and mace scraped. Mix them together and put the composition into little bags. For the same purpose may be used various aromatic plants, as leaves of southernwood, dragon-wort, balm, mint, both garden and wild ; dittary, ground-ivy, bay, hyssop, lovage, sweet-marjoram, origanum, penny- royal, thyme; rosemary, savory, scordium, and wild thyme, &c. The flowers of the orange, lemon, lime, and citron tree ; saffron, lavender, roses, lily of the valley, clove, July flower, wall-flower, jonquil, and mace. Fruits, as aniseeds, &c. Roots of acorns, Bohemian angelica, oriental costus, sweet flag, orrice, zedoary, &c. Woods of rhodium, juniper, cassia, St. Lucia, San- ders, &c. Gums, as frankincense, myrrh, storax, Benjamin, labdanum, ambergris, and amber, &c. 196 APPENDIX. Barks, as canella alba (winter's bark) cinnamon. These ingredients ought all to be perfectly dry, and kept in a dry place ; and to prevent them from turning black, a little common salt may be added. When it is desirable to have any particular flowers predominant, a greater quantity of that plant must be used in propor- tion to the other ingredients. 4. An agreeable sweet-scented Composition. Take Florentine orrice - - - J pound Rose-wood ----- 6 ounces Calimis aromaticus - - pound Yellow Sanders - - - J pound G. Benjamin - - - - 3 ounces Cloves ------ i ounce Cinnamon ----- 1 ounce. Beat the whole into a powder and fill little bags with it. Fewer ingredients may serve, but the more the richer. For linen, drawers, wardrobes, &c. 5. A sweet-scented Bag to wear in the Pocket. Take thin Persian, and make it into little bags about four inches wide, in the form of an oblong square. Rub the insides slightly with a little civet, then fill them with coarse powder a la Marechale, or any other odoriferous powder to which may be added a few cloves, with a little yellow sanders beaten small, and sew up the mouths of the bags. APPENDIX. "" 197 6. A Cosmetic Wash-ball. Take Venetian soap - - - 2 ounces Lemon juice - - - - 2 ounces Oil of bitter almonds - 1 ounce Oil of tartar - - - - 1 ounce, Dissolve the soap in the lemon-juice add the other ingredients, and stew them all together till it acquires the consistence of a thin paste. 7. Madame Pompadour's Wash-ball. Take Brandy ------ 4 pints Italian soap, cut small - 1 pound Quick-lime - - - - pound, Add them to the brandy, let them ferment twenty-four hours, and then spread the mass on a sheet of filtering paper to dry. When quite dry, beat it in a marble mortar, with half an ounce of St. Lucia wood, an ounce and a half of yellow sanders, half an ounce of orrice root, and as much calimus aromaticus, all finely pow- dered. Knead the whole into a paste with whites of eggs, and a quarter of a pound of gum fragaranth dissolved in rose-water, and then form it into balls according to the usual method. 8. A cool evaporating Aromatic Lotion for the Face, Hands, and Neck. Take Spirits of lavender - 1 ounce Rose water - - - 1 pint Distilled water - - j pint. 198 9. A Perfume for Gloves. Take Ambergris - - - - 1 drachm Civet ----- 1 drachm Orange-flower water - ounce, Mix these ingredients well, and rub them into the gloves with fine cotton wool, pressing the perfume into them. 10. Another. Take essence of roses, half an ounce; oil of cloves and mace, of each a drachm ; frankincense, a quarter of an ounce mix them and lay them in papers between your gloves. Being hard pressed, the gloves will take the scent in twenty-four hours, and afterwards hardly ever lose it. 11. The Fountam-of-Youth Water. Take Quick sulphur - - - 1 ounce Oliban and myrrh, each 2 ounces Amber ------ 6 drachms Rose water - - - - 1 quart, distil the whole in a water bath, and wash the face with the water every night on retiring to rest : the following morning wash yourself with weak barley water, and your complexion will have a youthful appearance. *** It is also asserted that the distilled water of green pine-apples takes away wrinkles, and gives the complexion an air of youth. APPENDIX. 199 12. To make the Hair and Whiskers curl. Take Olive oil ----- 1$ ounce Spirit of Hartshorn - 1 ounce Mix. Do the hair thoroughly with this mixture once every two days; comb and brush well; place in the order you would have, and in ringlets ; wear a close tight cap over it, and it will form into natural curls. FAMILY PRESCRIPTIONS. 1 . Antibilious Pills. Take Soccotrine aloes 7 feach ^ 3 1 urkey rhubarb Calomel ------10 grains Oil of mint --,--- 5 drops, Make into a mass, and divide into twelve pills. Dose, two occasionally. 2. In Scorbutic affections of the Gums. Take Infusion of roses - - - 6 drachms Alum or borate of soda - 1 drachm Honey of roses - - - - 1 drachm Make a gargle. 3. Antacid Mixture. Take Prepared chalk - - - - ounce Refined sugar - - - - 3 drachms Gum Arabic, in powder - 5 ounce Water ------- 1 pint, 200 APPENDIX. Make a mixture. Dose, two to four table spoonsful, in heart-burn or water qualm. 4. Winter Cough. Take Oxymel of squills ~\ Paregoric - - - C of each 2 ounces Oil of almonds - 3 Syrup of violets - - - - 1 ounce, Mix. Dose, from one to two table-spoonsful every four hours; and a dose when the cough is troublesome every hour. The oil may be omitted, and mucilage of gum arabic substituted. 5. Sickness at the Stomach. Take " IMPERIAL MARINE TINCTURE " 2 drachms Peppermint water - - - - 1 ounce, Make a draught. To be taken every half hour, in sea-sickness, nausea, and morning vomitings, from whatever cause; in the early stages of pregnancy, abuse of spirituous liquors, intoxication,* indiges- tion, &c. * The ' Imperial Marine Tincture, ' on the representation of some of the first men of the faculty of medicine, has been pronounced a specific in these cases. Ed. Printed by Manning and Smithson, London-house Yard, St. Paul's. PAT!** 3 r TOM/KTTE LTH, 'BE41JX.V