"Labor is life!--'Tis the still water faileth;
Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth;
Keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth."
--_Mrs. Frances S. Osgood._
It has often occurred to me that there are a vast number of plucky
little bread-winning girls and women to whom even a tiny jar of creme
marquise is a hopeless impossibility. For them is this chapter written.
In the first place, we all feel pretty sure that--in the great,
wonderful beginning of things--it was never meant that women should
work. We can't help knowing this when we look about us every night at
six o'clock and see the weary, patient, brave little faces that line
either side of the elevated trains or the crowded street cars. Women
are not given to the solving of problems, so we won't go into the great
"whys" or the "wherefores." That's a loss of time anyhow. But we will
do heaps better than that. We will try to be hopeful and cheery, and
learn how to make the best of the little happinesses that do come our
way.
The working girl--and we all take off our hats to her pluck--needs more
than any other class of womankind to take care of her health. She is
out in all kinds of weather, she works hard, and ofttimes struggles
through a daily routine that is harrowing beyond everything. After
hours there is mending to be done, or a thousand and one little duties
to keep her busy until, tired out and nerve-weary, she goes to bed to
gain rest and strength for the struggles of the morrow. She cannot
afford the little luxuries of the toilet that are so dear and near to
the heart of womankind the world over. The joys of having her hair
"done" or her pretty cheeks massaged are not hers--and the pity of it
is that often enough the fault lies not within herself, but in the
unhappy circumstances of fate that have placed her among the less
fortunate sisterhood.
Let a large bar of castile soap be the working girl's first investment.
I say a "large" bar for the reason that it is much cheaper when bought
that way. A good-sized piece of the pure white castile can be bought at
some of the drug stores for fifteen or twenty cents. This should be cut
into small cakes and put on a high shelf, where it will become dry and
hard and so it will be more lasting. With plenty of warm water, a few
good wash-rags and this pure soap you will have a beauty outfit that
will be more beneficial than all the rouges and eyebrow pencils that
were ever put into the windows of beauty shops.
The bath should be daily. Now do not say that you have not the time,
for the sponge bath--which will make the blood tingle and the flesh
glow--can be got through with in almost no time. It is most imperative
that the secretions of the skin and the dust gathered during the day
should be removed. When the body is not kept scrupulously clean the
complexion is sure to suffer, for there the pores of the skin are most
susceptible, and eruptions and blackheads come from very slight causes.
When the hands become rough and tender, and will not stand soap,
prepare a little almond meal. This, too, is very inexpensive, for,
instead of the powdered almonds, you can use the pressed almond cake,
which is nearly as good and very cheap, and in place of the orris root
wheat flour can be used. Take three ounces of the first and seven of
the latter. If you can afford it, add a little powdered talcum. A cream
for the face and hands, and one which can be used with perfect safety,
is benzoinated mutton tallow. This is simply the best mutton tallow to
which benzoin has been added, and both ingredients kept at a steady
heat until the alcohol of the benzoin has been completely evaporated.
About the hair: The greatest secret of luxuriant locks is absolute
cleanliness. There are many women who vainly fancy that they keep their
pretty locks perfectly clean, when they really do not at all. Only
plenty of running water can thoroughly rinse the soap or shampoo out.
If the hair is at all sticky, or if a slight oily substance adheres to
the comb, then the hair is not clean. (And let me say right here, combs
and brushes too must be kept as scrupulously clean as the hair itself.)
Castile soap makes the best shampoo in the world, especially when a
little piece is dissolved in warm water and a tiny bit of ammonia or
alcohol added, although for dry hair neither the alcohol nor ammonia is
at all necessary. If a tonic is needed, then use the sage tea, which,
however, must not be put on light, blond tresses. Common kerosene, if
one can endure the odor, is an unsurpassed remedy for falling hair.
Rubbing the scalp every night with the finger tips until the flesh
tingles and glows is a most inexpensive way of stimulating the
circulation, and frequently makes the hair grow long and nice and fine.
What one eats plays such a leading part in the beauty-getting
efforts--but I have but little space left now to tell about that.
Summed up in a nutshell, it is this: Eat very little pastry, and shun
greasy foods or fat meats, like pork or bacon. Pin your faith to
vegetables and fruit. A luncheon of two apples is of greater
nourishment, and more, real value to good looks, than a repast of mince
pie and coffee--two unspeakable horrors to any one who regards health
and beauty as worth the having or the striving for.
As for the dress, I could write a seven volume treatise on that. It
sounds prosy, I know, and very stupid, but let me tell you that it is
the wise girl who buys for comfort, utility and wear, instead of style
and elaborateness. A plain little fedora, if well brushed, makes a
trimmer, neater appearance than a cheap velvet hat ornamented with
feathers that have straightened out and flowers that have long since
lost their glory in the rains and storms of autumn time. It is the same
way with shoes and gloves. If one can possibly afford it, calfskin
boots and heavy gloves should always be purchased. They will not only
outwear two or three pairs of the lighter, less durable kind, but they
will give warmth and comfort and a well-groomed look as well.