Starch, Yellow Ochre, and Wood-ashes or Baker's Coals to colour it.
Beat the whole well in a mortar, then sift it through a hair sieve.
Beat the coarser parts over again, and sift a second time; repeating
these operations till all the composition has passed through the sieve.
227. _Flaxen coloured Powder._
Add to the White Powder a very little Yellow Ochre. The White Powder
may be tinged of any colour, by adding ingredients of the colour you
fancy.
228. _Bean Flour._
Grind any quantity of Beans, and sift the Meal through a very fine lawn
sieve. It will take no other scent than that of Florentine Orrice.
229. _To sweeten the Breath._
Roll up a little ball of Gum Tragacanth, scent it with some odoriferous
Essence or Oil, and hold it in the mouth. A little Musk may be added to
the ball while rolling up, where that perfume is not disagreeable.
230. _Or,_
After having eat Garlic or Onions, chew a little raw Parsley. It will
infallibly take away their offensive smell.
231. _A Remedy for scorbutic Gums._
Bruise Cinquefoil in a marble mortar, squeeze out the juice, warm it
over the fire, and rub the Gums with it every night and morning.
232. _A Remedy for Moist Feet._
Take twenty pounds of Lee made of the Ashes of the Bay Tree, three
handfuls of Bay Leaves, a handful of Sweet Flag, with the same quantity
of Calamus Aromaticus, and Dittany of Crete; boil the whole together
for some time, then strain off the liquor, and add two quarts of Wine.
Steep your feet in this bath an hour every day, and in a short time
they will no longer exhale a disagreeable smell.
FLEAS.
233. _A certain Method of destroying Fleas._
Sprinkle the room with a decoction of Arsmart, Bitter Apple, Briar
Leaves, or Cabbage Leaves; or smoke it with burnt Thyme or Pennyroyal.
234. _Or,_
Put Tansy Leaves about different parts of the bed, viz. under the
matrass, or between the blankets.
235. _Or,_
Rub the bed-posts well with a strong decoction of Elder Leaves.
236. _Or,_
Mercurial Ointment, or a fumigation of Pennyroyal Leaves, or of
Brimstone, infallibly destroys Fleas; as likewise do the fresh Leaves
of Pennyroyal, tied up in a bag, and laid upon the bed.
WRINKLES.
237. _A Secret to take away Wrinkles._
Heat an Iron Shovel red hot, throw on it some Powder of Myrrh, and
receive the smoke on your face, covering the head with a napkin to
prevent its being dissipated. Repeat this operation three times,
then heat the Shovel again, and when fiery hot pour on it a mouthful
of White Wine. Receive the vapour of the Wine also on your face, and
repeat it three times. Continue this method every night and morning as
long as you find occasion.
CARMINES.
238. _A Rouge for the Face._
Alkanet Root strikes a beautiful red when mixed with Oils or Pomatums.
A Scarlet or Rose-coloured Ribband wetted with Water or Brandy, gives
the Cheeks, if rubbed with it, a beautiful bloom that can hardly be
distinguished from the natural colour. Others only use a Red Sponge,
which tinges the cheeks of a fine carnation colour.
239. _Another._
Alum, beat them together into a coarse powder, and boil in a sufficient
quantity of Red Wine, till two thirds of the Liquor are consumed. When
this decoction has stood till cold, rub a little on the cheeks with a
bit of cotton.
240. _The 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 Fernambuca, having
first beaten them to a coarse powder; afterwards boil them together
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 spatula. The scum that rises is the Carmine; skim it off
carefully, and dry it for use.
Carmine may also be made with Cochineal, or Red Sanders, instead Brazil
Wood.
241. _A Liquid Rouge that exactly imitates
Nature._
Take a pint of good Brandy, and infuse in it half an ounce of Gum
Benjamin, an ounce of Red Sanders, and half an ounce of Brazil Wood,
both in coarse powder; with half an ounce of Roch Alum. Cork the bottle
tight, shake it well every day, and at the expiration of twelve days
the Liquor will be fit for use. Touch the cheeks lightly with this
Tincture, and it will scarcely be possible to perceive that rouge has
been laid on, it will so nearly resemble the natural bloom.
242. _An Oil that possesses the same Property._
Take ten pounds of Sweet Almonds, an ounce of Red Sanders in powder,
and an ounce of bruised Cloves; pour on them a gill of White Wine, and
three quarters of a gill of Rose-water; stir them well every day. At
the end of eight or nine days, squeeze the paste in a press in the same
manner as when you mean to extract Oil of Almonds.
SWEET-SCENTED BAGS.
243. _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 inside lightly with a little
Civet, then fill them with coarse powder a la Marechale, or any other
odoriferous Powder you choose; to which add a few Cloves, with a little
Yellow Sanders beaten small, and sew up the mouths of the bags.
244. _Bags to Scent Linen._
Take Rose Leaves dried in the shade, Cloves beat to a gross powder, and
Mace, scraped; mix them together, and put the composition into little
bags.
245. _An agreeable Sweet-Scented Composition._
Take Florentine Orrice, a pound and a half; Rose Wood, six ounces;
Calamus Aromaticus, half a pound; Yellow Sanders, a quarter of a pound;
Gum Benjamin, five ounces; Cloves, half an ounce; and Cinnamon, an
ounce: beat the whole into powder, and fill your bags with it.
246. _Ingredients for various Sorts of these little Bags or Satchels._
For this purpose may be used different parts of the Aromatic Plants; as
Leaves of Southernwood, Dragon-wort, Balm, Mint both garden and wild,
Dittany, Ground-ivy, Bay, Hyssop, Lovage, Sweet Marjoram, Origanum,
Pennyroyal, Thyme, Rosemary, Savory, Scordium, and Wild Thyme. 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. The Rinds of Lemons, Oranges, &c. Small
green Oranges, Juniper-berries, Nutmegs, and Cloves. Roots of Acorus,
Bohemian Angelica, Oriental Costus, Sweet Flag, Orrice, Zedoary, &c.
The Woods of Rhodium, Juniper, Cassia, St. Lucia, Sanders, &c. Gums, as
Frankincense, Myrrh, Storax, Benjamin, Labdanum, Ambergrise, and Amber.
Barks, as Canella Alba, Cinnamon, &c.
Care must be taken that all these ingredients are perfectly dry,
and kept in a dry place. To prevent their turning black, add a
little common Salt. When you choose to have any particular Flower
predominant, a greater quantity of that plant must be used in
proportion to the other ingredients.
WASH-BALLS.
247. _White Soap._
This soap is made with one part of the Lees of Spanish Pot-ash and
Quick-lime, to two parts of Oil of Olives or Oil of Almonds.
248. _Honey Soap._
Take four ounces of White Soap, and as much Honey, half an ounce
of Salt of Tartar, and two or three drachms of the distilled Water
of Fumitory; mix the whole together. This Soap cleanses the skin
well, and renders it delicately white and smooth. It is also used
advantageously, to efface the marks of burns and scalds.
249. _A perfumed Soap._
Take four ounces of Marsh-mallow Roots skinned and dried in the shade,
powder them, and add an ounce of Starch, the same quantity of Wheaten
Flour, six drachms of fresh Pine-nut Kernels, two ounces of blanched
Almonds, an ounce and a half of Orange Kernels husked, two ounces
of Oil of Tartar, the same quantity of Oil of Sweet Almonds, and
thirty grains of Musk: thoroughly incorporate the whole, and add to
every ounce, half an ounce of Florentine Orrice-root in fine powder.
Then steep half a pound of fresh Marsh-mallow Roots bruised in the
distilled Water of Mallows, or Orange Flowers, for twelve hours, and
forcibly squeezing out the liquor, make, with this mucilage, and the
preceding Powders and Oils, a stiff Paste, which is to be dried in
the shade, and formed into round balls. Nothing exceeds this Soap for
smoothing the skin, or rendering the hands delicately white.
250. _Fine scented Wash-ball._
Take of the best White Soap, half a pound, and shave it into thin
slices with a knife; then take two ounces and a half of Florentine
Orrice, three quarters of an ounce of Calamus Aromaticus, and the same
quantity of Elder Flowers; of Cloves, and dried Rose Leaves, each
half an ounce; Coriander-seeds, Lavender, and Bay Leaves, of each a
drachm, with three drachms of Storax. Reduce the whole to fine powder,
which knead into a Paste with the Soap; adding a few grains of Musk or
Ambergrise. When you make this Paste into Wash-balls, soften it with
a little Oil of Almonds to render the composition more lenient. Too
much cannot be said in favour of this Wash-ball, with regard to its
cleansing and cosmetic property.
251. _A Wash-ball, an excellent Cosmetic for the Face and Hands._
Take a pound of Florentine Orrice, a quarter of a pound of Storax,
two ounces of Yellow Sanders, half an ounce of Cloves, as much fine
Cinnamon, a Nutmeg, and twelve grains of Ambergrise; beat the whole
into very fine powder and sift them through a lawn sieve, all except
the Ambergrise, which is to be added afterwards. Then take two pounds
of the finest White Soap, shaved small, and infuse it in three pints of
Brandy, four or five days. When it is dissolved, add a little Orange
Flower-water, and knead the whole into a very stiff Paste with the
best Starch finely powdered. Then mix the Ambergrise, with a little
Gum Tragacanth liquefied in sweet-scented Water. Of this Paste make
Wash-balls; dry them in the shade, and polish them with a Paste-board
or Lignum Vitæ cup.
252. _Bologna Wash-balls._
Take a pound of Italian Soap cut in small bits, and a quarter of a
pound of Lime; pour on them two quarts of Brandy, let them ferment
together twenty-four hours, then spread the mass on a sheet of
filtring 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 Calamus Aromaticus,
all finely powdered. Knead the whole into a Paste with Whites of Eggs,
and a quarter of a pound of Gum Tragacanth dissolved in Rose-water, and
then form it into Wash-balls according to the usual method.
253. _An excellent Wash-ball for the Complexion._
Take two ounces of Venetian Soap; dissolve it in two ounces of Lemon
Juice, an ounce of Oil of Bitter Almonds, and the same quantity of
Oil of Tartar. Mix the whole together, and stir the mixture till it
acquires the consistence of a thick Paste.
254. _Seraglio Wash-balls._
Take a pound of Florentine Orrice-roots, a quarter of a pound of Gum
Benjamin, two ounces of Storax, two ounces of Yellow Sanders, half
an ounce of Cloves, a drachm of Cinnamon, a little Lemon-peel, an
ounce of St. Lucia Wood, and one Nutmeg. Reduce the whole to fine
powder; then take about two pounds or White Soap shaved thin, steep
it with the above Powder in three pints of Brandy, four or five days.
Afterwards kneading the mass with a sufficient quantity of Starch,
and adding to it the Whites of Eggs, with Gum Tragacanth dissolved in
some odoriferous Water, form the Paste into Wash-balls of what size
you please. A few grains of Musk or Civet, or a little Essential Oil
of Lavender, Bergamot, Roses, Cloves, Clove-july-flowers, Jasmine,
Cinnamon, in short, any that best pleases the fancy of the person who
prepares these Wash-balls, may be incorporated with the Paste while
forming into a mass.
255. _A Hepatic Salt, to preserve the Complexion._
Take Roots of Agrimony, two pounds; Roots of Succory and Scorzonera, of
each a pound; Bitter Costus and Turmeric, of each half a pound; Calamus
Aromaticus and Rhapontic, of each a quarter of a pound; Wormwood,
Southernwood, Sweet Maudlin, Harts-tongue, Fluellin, Liverwort,
Fumitory, and Dodder of Thyme, of each three ounces; calcine the whole
in a reverberatory furnace, and add Ashes of Rhubarb and Cassia Lignea
of each an ounce and a half. Make a lee with these Ashes in a decoction
of the Flowers of Liverwort, and extract the Salt according to art.
This Salt causes the bile to flow freely, removes obstructions, cures
the jaundice, takes away a sallow complexion, and imparts to the skin
the ruddy vermillion bloom of health. Its dose is from twenty-four to
thirty-six grains, in any convenient vehicle.
EYE-BROWS.
256. _To change the Eye-brows black._
Rub them frequently with ripe Elder-berries. Some use burnt Cork, or
Cloves burnt in the candle; others prefer the Black of Frankincense,
Rosin, and Mastic. This Black will not melt nor come off by sweating.
MARKS OF THE SKIN.
257. _To efface Spots or Marks of the Mother, on any Part of the Body._
Steep in Vinegar of Roses, or strong White Wine Vinegar, Borrage Roots
stripped of their small adhering fibres, and let them stand to infuse
twelve or fourteen hours. Bathe the part affected frequently with this
Infusion, and in time the marks will totally disappear.
258. _Or,_
Take, towards the end of the month of May, the Roots and Leaves of the
herb Bennet; distil them with a sufficient quantity of Water in an
alembic, and frequently foment the marks with the distilled Water.
259. _To take away Marks, and fill up the Cavities left after the
Small-Pox._
Take Oil of the four larger Cold Seeds, Oil of Eggs, and Oil of Sweet
Almonds, of each half an ounce; Plantain and Nightshade Water, of each
three quarters of an ounce; Litharge and Ceruss finely powdered and
washed in Rose-water, of each a drachm. Put the Litharge and Ceruss
into a brass pot, and incorporate them over a fire, with the Oils,
adding the latter gradually, and stirring the mixture all the while.
Then add by degrees also the Nightshade and Plantain Water, and thus
form a Liniment, with which anoint the face of the patient as soon
as the scabs of the Small-pox begin to scale off; and repeat the
application as occasion may require.
COMPLEXION.
260. _Certain Methods to improve the Complexion._
Brown ladies should frequently bathe themselves, and wash their faces
with a few drops of Spirit of Wine, sometimes with Virgin's Milk,
and the distilled Waters of Pimpernel, White Tansy, Bean Flowers,
&c. These detersive penetrating applications, by degrees remove the
kind of varnish that covers the skin, and thus render more free the
perspiration, which is the only real cosmetic.
261. _The Montpellier Toilet._
For this purpose a new light-woven linen cloth must be procured, and
cut of a proper size to make a toilet. The first step you take must
be to wash the cloth perfectly clean in several different Waters,
then spread it out to dry, and afterwards steep it twenty-four hours
in Sweet-scented Water, viz. 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 dried Orange Flowers, Roots of Elecampane, and Florentine Orrice,
of each half a pound; of Yellow Sanders, four ounces; of the Marc or
Residuum of Angelic Water, two ounces; of Rose-wood and Sweet Flag,
each an ounce; of Gum Labdanum, Calamus Aromaticus, and Cloves, each
half an ounce; of Cinnamon, two drachms; beat all these ingredients
into powder, and make them into a Paste with Mucilage of Gum Tragacanth
dissolved in Angelic Water. Rub this Paste hard on both sides of
your cloth, 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 yet more smooth; after which dry it
thoroughly, and fold it up. This cloth is generally lined with taffety,
and covered with sattin, and is never enclosed within more than two
pieces of some kind of thin silk, as Taffety, &c.
262. _Sweet-scented Troches to correct a bad Breath._
Take Frankincense, a scruple; Ambergrise, fifteen grains; Musk, seven
grains: Oil of Lemons, six drops; double refined Sugar, an ounce. Form
these ingredients into little Troches with Mucilage of Gum Arabic, made
with Cinnamon Water. Hold one or two in the mouth as often occasion
requires.
263. _A curious Varnish for the Face._
Fill into a bottle three quarters of a pint of good Brandy, infusing
in it an ounce of Gum Sandarach, and half an ounce of Gum Benjamin.
Frequently shake the bottle till the Gums are wholly dissolved, and
then let it stand to settle.
Apply this varnish after having washed the face clean, and it will give
the skin the finest lustre imaginable.
WARTS.
264. _A Medicine to cure Warts._
Take the Leaves of Campanula, bruise them, and rub them upon the warts.
Repeat this operation three or four times, if they prove obstinate;
and they will afterwards soon waste away without leaving the least
mark behind. This plant perhaps is not to be met with every where, but
Botanists have described it by the following marks. Its leaves, say
they, resemble those of the Blue Bell Flower, or Ivy, are stringy,
composed of five lobes, without down, are small at the end, and have a
loose flabby stalk.
265. _Another._
Take the inner Rind of a Lemon, steep it four and twenty hours in
distilled Vinegar, and apply it to the warts. It must not be left on
the part above three hours at a time, and is to be applied afresh every
day.
266. _Or,_
Divide a Red Onion, and rub the warts well with it.
267. _Or,_
Anoint the warts with the milky Juice of the herb Mercury several
times, and they will gradually waste away.
268. _Another safe and experienced Method._
Rub the warts with a pared Pippin, and a few days afterwards they will
be found to disappear.
VINEGARS.
269. _Distilled Vinegar._
Fill a stone cucurbit about three parts and a half full of White Wine
Vinegar; place the vessel in a furnace so contrived as to contain
three parts of the height of the cucurbit; mould the openings that
remain between the sides and the upper part of the vessel with clay
tempered with water; lute the vessel, fix on a receiver, and begin your
distillation with a moderate fire, which is to be increased by degrees
till about five sixths of the Vinegar are drawn off, which is called
Distilled Vinegar. A small quantity of acid Liquor still remains in the
cucurbit of the consistence of Honey, which if you think proper may be
dried hard by the assistance of a vapour-bath. The Vinegar distilled
from this substance is infinitely more acid, than that which was drawn
off by the first process.
To rectify distilled Vinegar, put it into a clean vessel, setting it
in the same degree of fire as at first to separate more phlegm, and in
every thing proceed as before, till the bottom is almost dry. Neither
the fire nor distillation however must be urged too far, for fear of
giving an empyreumatic flavour to that which is already distilled.
Distilled Vinegar is used externally, mixed with Water, to wash the
face: it is cooling, and takes away the troublesome little pimples that
sometimes affect this part.
270. _Distilled Lavender Vinegar._
Put into a stone cucurbit any quantity of fresh-gathered Lavender
Flowers picked clean from the Stalks; pour on them as much distilled
Vinegar as is requisite to make the Flowers float; distil in a
vapour-bath, and draw off about three fourths of the Vinegar.
In the same manner are prepared the Vinegars from all other vegetable
substances. Compound Vinegars are made by mixing several aromatic
substances together; observing only to bruise all hard woody
ingredients, and to let them infuse a sufficient time in the Vinegar
before you proceed to distillation.
Lavender Vinegar is of use for the Toilet; it is cooling, and when
applied to the face, braces up the relaxed fibres of the skin.
271. _Vinegar of the Four Thieves._
Take of the tops of Sea and Roman Wormwood, Rosemary, Sage, Mint and
Rue, of each an ounce and a half; Lavender Flowers two ounces, Calamus
Aromaticus, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, and Garlic, of each a quarter of
an ounce; Camphire, half an ounce; Red Wine Vinegar, a gallon. Choose
all the foregoing ingredients dry, except the Garlic and Camphire; beat
them into gross powder, and cut the Garlic into thin slices; put the
whole into a matrass; pour the Vinegar on them, and digest the mixture
in the sun, or in a gentle sand-heat, for three weeks or a month. Then
strain off the Vinegar by expression, filter it through paper, and add
the Camphire dissolved in a little rectified Spirit of Wine. Keep it
for use in a bottle, tightly corked.
The Vinegar of the Four Thieves is antipestilential, and is used
successfully as a preservative against contagious disorders. The hands
and face are washed with it every day; the room fumigated with it, as
are also the clothes, in order to secure the person from infection.
EYES.
272. _To cure watery Eyes._
Prepare a decoction with the Leaves of Betony, Fennel Roots, and a
little fine Frankincense, which use as an Eye-water.
273. _Or,_
Frequently bathe the Eyes with a decoction of Chervil.
274. _Or,_
Drop into the Eyes now and then a little Juice of Rue, mixed with
clarified Honey.
275. _An excellent Ophthalmic Lotion._
Take White Vitriol and Bay Salt, of each an ounce; decrepitate them
together, and when the detonation is over, pour on them, in an earthen
pan, a pint of boiling Water or Rose-water. Stir them together, and
let them stand some hours. A variously coloured skin will be formed on
the surface, which carefully skim off, and put the clear liquor into a
bottle for use.
This was communicated to the author as a great secret; and indeed he
has found it by experience very safely to cool and repel those sharp
humours that sometimes fall upon the Eyes, and to clear the latter of
beginning films and specks. If too sharp, it may be diluted with a
little Rose-water.
276. _An Ophthalmic Poultice._
Take half a pint of Alum Curd, and mix with it a sufficient quantity
of Red Rose Leaves powdered, to give it a proper consistence. This is
an excellent application for sore moist eyes, and admirably cools and
represses defluxions.
277. _A Poultice for inflamed Eyes._
Take half a pint of a decoction of Linseed in Water, and as much Flour
of Linseed as is sufficient to make it of a proper consistence. This
Poultice is preferable to a Bread and Milk Poultice for inflamed Eyes,
as it will not grow sour and acrid.
278. _Sir Hans Sloane's Eye Salve._
Take prepared Tutty, one ounce; prepared Bloodstone, two scruples;
Aloes in fine powder, twelve grains; mix them well together in a
marble mortar, with as much Viper's Fat as is requisite to bring the
whole to the consistence of a soft salve. It is to be applied with a
hair pencil, the eyes winking or a little opened. It has cured many
whose eyes were covered with opake films and scabs, left by preceding
disorders of those parts.
279. _An Ophthalmic Fomentation._
Take three quarters of an ounce of White Poppy Heads bruised with their
Seeds, and boil them in Milk and Water, of each half a pint, till one
half is wasted away; then dissolve in the strained Liquor a scruple of
Sugar of Lead. This is an excellent application for moist, or inflamed
Eyes.
280. _A Simple Remedy to strengthen the Sight._
Snuff up the Juice of Eyebright, and drop a little into the eyes. It
not only clears and strengthen the sight, but takes off all specks,
films, mists, or suffusions.
Herb Snuffs are also excellent to strengthen and preserve the sight;
various Receipts for making which will afterwards be given.
SUPPLEMENT.
Manner of taking out all Kinds of SPOTS and STAINS
from LINEN and STUFFS; and various other useful
Receipts.
281. _To take Iron Mould out of Linen._
Hold the Iron Mould over the Fume of Boiling Water for some time, then
pour on the spot a little Juice of Sorrel and a little Salt, and when
the cloth has thoroughly imbibed the Juice, wash it in Lee.
282. _To take out Stains of Oil._