people are generally healthy, muscular, strong, and active, and
remarkable for a keen appetite. But when there appears a diminution
of strength--when the spirits sink, and the food does not freely
digest--then leanness is the sign of lurking disease. Such patients
should take a cup of milk warm from the cow every morning, or cold
milk, with two raw fresh eggs beaten up with it. A pint of the best
porter or stout at dinner, and the same at supper. Tea is better than
coffee, and salad with strong supplies of oil, not much vinegar, are
recommended.
473. _Cure for Stammering._--Impediments in the speech may be cured,
where there is no malformation of the organs of articulation, by
perseverance for three or four months in the simple remedy of reading
aloud, with the teeth closed, for at least two hours in the course of
each day.
POISONS AND ANTIDOTES.
474. _Acids._--These cause great heat, and sensation of burning
pain, from the mouth down to the stomach. Remedies, magnesia, soda,
pearlash, or soap, dissolved in water; then use stomach-pump or
emetics.
475. _Alcohol._--First cleanse out the stomach by an emetic, then
dash cold water on the head, and give ammonia (spirits of hartshorn.)
476. _Alkalies._--Best remedy is vinegar.
477. _Ammonia._--Remedy, lemon-juice or vinegar, afterwards milk and
water or flaxseed tea.
478. _Arsenic._--Remedies, in the first place evacuate the stomach,
then give the white of eggs, lime-water, or chalk and water, charcoal
and the preparations of iron, particularly hydrate.
479. _Belladonna, or Night Henbane._--Give emetics, and then plenty
of vinegar and water or lemonade.
480. _Charcoal._--In poisons by carbonic gas, remove the patient
to open air, dash cold water on the head and body, and stimulate
nostrils and lungs by hartshorn, at the same time rubbing the chest
briskly.
481. _Corrosive Sublimate._--Give white of eggs freshly mixed with
water, or give wheat flour and water, or soap and water freely.
482. _Creosote._--White of eggs and the emetics.
483. _Laudanum._--Same as opium.
484. _Lead. White Lead and Sugar of Lead._--Remedies, alum,
cathartic, such as castor oil and Epsom salts, especially.
485. _Mushrooms, when poisonous._--Give emetics, and then plenty of
vinegar and water, with dose of ether, if handy.
486. _Nitrate of Silver_, (_lunar caustic_).--Give a strong solution
of common salt, and then emetics.
487. _Nitrate of Potash, or Saltpetre._--Give emetics, then copious
draughts of flaxseed tea, milk and water, and other soothing drinks.
488. _Opium._--First give a strong emetic of mustard and water, then
strong coffee and acid drinks, dash cold water on the head.
489. _Oxalic Acid._--Frequently mistaken for Epsom Salts. Remedies,
chalk, magnesia, or soap and water freely, then emetics.
490. _Prussic Acid._--When there is time, administer chlorine, in the
shape of soda or lime. Hot brandy and water. Hartshorn and turpentine
also useful.
491. _Snake Bites, &c._--Apply immediately strong hartshorn, and take
it internally; also, give sweet oil, and stimulants freely. Apply a
ligature tight above the part bitten, and then apply a cupping-glass.
492. _Tartar Emetic._--Give large doses of tea made of galls,
Peruvian bark, or white oak bark.
493. _Tobacco._--First an emetic, then astringent tea, then
stimulants.
494. _Verdigris._--Plenty of white of egg and water.
495. _White Vitriol._--Give the patient plenty of milk and water.
In almost all cases of poisoning, emetics are highly useful, and
of those, one of the very best, because most prompt and ready, is
the common mustard flour or powder, a spoonful of which, stirred up
in warm water, may be given every five or ten minutes, until free
vomiting can be obtained.
Emetics and warm demulcent drinks, such as milk and water, flaxseed
or slippery elm tea, chalk water, &c., should be administered without
delay. The subsequent management of the case will of course be left
to a physician.
496. _To prevent Death from the Bite of Venomous Animals._--From
observations made by Dr. Bancroft, it is found, that in South
America, where the most venomous serpents abound, a very tight
ligature, instantly made after the bite, between the part bitten and
the trunk of the body, will prevent immediate danger, and allow time
for proper means of remedy, either by excision of the whole joint,
just above the ligature, or by topical applications upon the part
bitten.
For instance, if the bite should be upon the end of the finger, a
tight ligature of small cord should immediately be made beyond the
next joint of the finger.
If the bite is on any part of the hand, the ligature should be made
above the wrist, by means of a garter or cord, lapped several times
round the arm, and rendered as tight as possible, by a small stick
thrust betwixt the folds of the cord or garter, and twisted round
very hard, to prevent the circulation of the blood betwixt the part
bitten and the other part of the body. Ligatures of the same kind,
applied by any one present, or the man himself, will frequently save
a person's life, where, by accident, an artery in any of the limbs is
wounded, and no surgeon is at hand.
497. _Prevention of Hydrophobia._--As there has been hitherto no
remedy discovered which can be said to possess a specific control
over this dreadful malady, and therefore little hope can be
entertained of a cure for it, our best endeavors should be directed
to the _preventive_ treatment. This is to be commenced, then, by
completely cutting out the whole wound as soon as possible after the
bite of a suspected animal. After this, bleeding should be encouraged
by immersion in warm water, or the application of a cupping-glass.
Caustic should next be applied to every part of the wound, which
is then to be covered with a poultice, and suffered to heal by
granulation, or be kept open, and made to suppurate, by irritating
ointments. The excision should never be omitted, even though the
bitten part have healed, and let the interval since its occurrence be
what it may. As for any of innumerable so-called specifics, there is
not one that is worth a moment's trial.
498. _To alleviate the Pain occasioned by the Sting of Gnats._--The
disagreeable itching occasioned by the sting of these insects, may be
removed by volatile alkali, or immediately rubbing and washing the
part affected with cold water.
At night, to rub with fuller's earth and water, lessens the
inflammation.
499. _Simple and effectual cure for those who may accidentally have
swallowed a Wasp._--Instantly, on the alarming accident taking
place, put a tea-spoonful of common salt in your mouth, which will
instantaneously not only kill the wasp, but at the same time heal the
sting.
500. _For the Sting of a Wasp or Bee._--Spread over the part a
plaster of salad oil and common salt; if oil be not at hand, the
salt may be used, moistened with water or vinegar. Or, keep the part
constantly moist with a rag dipped in sal-volatile and cold water,
as strong as can be borne without raising the skin. Or, immediately
after taking out the sting, get an onion and bruise it, and apply
it to the stung place, and it will afford immediate relief. Or, a
washerwoman's blue-bag, applied in the same manner, will have a like
effect.
501. _Sting of a Nettle._--Rub the part affected with balm, rosemary,
mint, or any other aromatic herb, and the smart will soon cease.
BATHS AND BATHING.
502. The best materials for constructing baths, are slabs of polished
marble, bedded with water-tight cement, in a wooden case, and
carefully united at the edges. But, as white or veined marble baths
are apt to get yellow or discolored by frequent use, and cannot
easily be cleaned, large Dutch tiles, or square pieces of white
earthenware, are sometimes substituted; these, however, are with
difficulty kept water-tight, so that marble is altogether preferable.
Copper, or tinned iron plates, are also used; the former is more
expensive at the outset, but far more durable than the latter, which
is also liable to leakage at the joints, unless excellently made.
Both copper and iron should be well covered, in and outside, with
several coats of paint. Wooden tubs--square, oblong, or oval--are
sometimes used for warm baths, and are cheap and convenient; but
the wood contracts a mouldy smell, and there is great difficulty in
preventing shrinkage in them, and keeping them water-tight.
The fittest place for baths, is the bed-room floor; they are
sometimes placed in the basement story, which is cold and damp, and
in all weather disagreeable.
Due attention should be paid to the warming and ventilation of the
bath-room. A temperature of 70 degrees, by the thermometer, should be
kept up in it; and ventilation is requisite, to prevent the moisture
settling upon the walls and furniture.
An improvement in the construction of baths, is a slightly hollowed
space at one end, to receive the head of the bather, so as to prevent
that sensation of cramp which is often experienced from the ordinary,
abrupt shape of a bath.
The hand is a very uncertain test for the heat of water, and should,
therefore, not be relied on in preparing a bath; but a thermometer
should be employed, which will denote the actual temperature, thus:--
Cold bath, from 32° to 75° of Fahrenheit.
Tepid " " 75 to 92 " "
Warm " " 92 to 98 " "
Hot " " 98 to 114 " "
Vapor " " 100 to 140 " "
503. _Hand Shower-Bath._--An excellent hand shower-bath for children,
has been invented. It consists of a metal vessel, containing about
a gallon, the bottom of which is pierced with holes, while the upper
part is open, and provided with a handle. When intended to be used,
the vessel is immersed in a pail of water, and it quickly fills from
the lower part. The thumb is placed over the aperture at the apex,
which prevents all escape of water. It may be held at a convenient
distance over the child, and the moment the thumb is removed, there
falls a refreshing shower, which may be stopped instantaneously, by
placing the thumb over the upper opening.
504. _Simple Vapor Bath._--Wrap the patient in blankets, which fasten
closely about the neck, leaving the head exposed: then place him
in a chair, under which set a basin or deep dish, with half a pint
of spirits of wine, or whisky, which should be ignited: close the
blankets to the floor, and in a few minutes the patient will be in a
profuse perspiration, and should be put to bed between warm blankets.
505. _Advantages of Bathing._--It is a fact officially recorded,
that during the terrible visitations of cholera in France, out of
nearly 16,228 subscribers to the public baths of Paris, Bordeaux, and
Marseilles, only two deaths among them were ascribed to cholera. We
doubt whether there exists a more effectual preventive of disease of
every kind, and a greater promoter of good health at all times, than
the practice of daily bathing.
506. _Uses of Hot Water._--The efficacy of hot water, on many
occasions in life, cannot be too generally known. It is an excellent
gargle for a bad sore throat, or quinsy. In bruises, hot water,
by immersion and fomentation, will remove pain, and prevent
discoloration and stiffness. It has the same effect after a blow. It
should be applied as quickly as possible, and as hot as it can be
borne. Insertion in hot water will also cure that troublesome and
very painful ailment, the whitlow.
507. _Good effects of Bathing._--"I am often asked, what baths are
safest--as if everything, by its fitness or unfitness, is not safe,
or the reverse. The value of all baths depends upon their fitness;
and that, in many instances, can only be known by trial. It depends
upon constitution, more than upon the name of a disease, whether
particular patients shall be benefited by one bath or another.
Generally speaking, when the skin is hot and dry, a cold bath will do
good; and when chilly, a hot bath. But the reverse sometimes happens.
The cold stage of ague, may at once be cut short by a cold bath. I
have seen a shivering hypochondriac dash into the cold plunge bath,
and come out, in a minute or two, perfectly cured of all his aches
and whimseys. But, in cases of this nature, everything depends upon
the _glow_ or _reaction_ which the bath produces; and that has as
much to do with surprise or shock as with the temperature of the
bath. I have seen a person with a hot, dry skin, go into a warm bath,
and come out just as refreshed as if he had taken a cold one. In that
case, the perspiration which it excited, must have been the principal
means of relief.
"So far as my own experience goes, I prefer the cold and tepid
shower-baths, and the cold plunge-bath, to any other; but there are
cases in which these disagree, and I, therefore, occasionally order
the warm or vapor-bath instead."--_Dr. Dickson._
508. _Diet for Patients._--"I am every day asked by my patients,
what diet they should take. I generally answer by the question, 'How
old are you?' Suppose they say, _Forty_--'Forty!' I rejoin: 'you who
have had forty years' experience of what agrees and disagrees with
you--how can you ask me who have no experience of the kind in your
case whatever?' Surely, gentlemen, a patient's experience of what
agrees and disagrees with his own particular constitution, is far
better than any theory of yours or mine. Why, bless my life! in many
chronic diseases, the diet which a man can take to-day, would be
rejected with disgust to-morrow; under such circumstances, would you
still, according to common medical practice, tell a sick person to go
on taking what he himself found worried him to death? Gentlemen, I
hope better things of you.
"The only general caution you need give your patients on the
subject of diet, is _moderation_; moderation in using the things
which they find agree with themselves best. You may direct them to
take their food in small quantities at a time, at short _periodic_
intervals--intervals of two or three hours, for example; and tell
them to take the trouble to masticate it properly before they
swallow it, so as not to give a weak stomach the _double_ work of
mastication and digestion--these processes being, even in health,
essentially distinct. Unless properly comminuted and mixed with the
saliva, how can you expect the food to be anything but a source of
inconvenience to persons whom the smallest trifle will frequently
discompose?"--_Dr. Dickson's Lectures._
509. _Abstinence, or Starvation._--Beware of carrying this too
far!--for "abstinence engenders maladies." So Shakspeare said, and
so nature will tell you, in the teeth of all the doctors in Europe!
Abstinence may produce almost every form of disease which has entered
into the consideration of the physician.--_Ibid._
510. _The Blood is the Life--never be Bled!_--"He who loses a pint
of blood, loses a pint of his life. Of what is the body composed?
Is it not of blood, and blood only? What fills up the excavation
of an ulcer or an abscess? What re-produces the bone of the leg or
thigh, after it has been thrown off dead, in nearly all its length?
what but the living BLOOD, under the vito-electrical influence of
the brain and nerves! How does the slaughtered animal die? Of loss
of blood solely. Is not the blood, then, in the impressive language
of Scripture, 'the life of the flesh?' How remarkable, that while
the value of the blood to the animal economy should be thus so
distinctly and emphatically acknowledged, blood-letting is not even
once alluded to, among the various modes of _cure_ mentioned in
the sacred volume. We have 'balms,' 'balsams,' 'baths,' 'charms,'
'physics,'--'poultices,' even--but loss of blood, never! Had it been
practised by the Jews, why this omission? Will the men who now so
lavishly pour out the blood, dispute its importance in the animal
economy? Will they deny that it forms the basis of the solids?
that when the body has been wasted by long disease, it is by the
blood only it can recover its healthy volume and appearance?"--_Dr.
Dickson's Lectures._
THE TOILET.
511. Personal beauty is the gift of nature, but its preservation
depends much on the care of its possessor. Beauty may also be
cultivated and enhanced; even plainness may be improved, and the
defects that sickness, accidents, and age impress on the human
features and form, may be greatly remedied by simple means, and
attention to a few important rules.
The first requisite for the preservation and improvement of personal
beauty is _good temper_. The teachings of the New Testament, if
you follow its precepts, will insure you this grace. The second
requirement is _good health_. The most important rules for its
preservation and recovery are given in this chapter. The third
requisite comprises attention to neatness, and that general care of
the person which the rules and receipts we here subjoin, will aid in
making complete.
512. _Of the Hair._--It is a great mistake to plait the hair of
children under eleven or twelve years of age. The process of plaiting
more or less strains the hairs in their roots by pulling them tight;
tends to deprive them of their requisite supply of nutriment; and
checks their growth. The hair of girls should be cut rather short,
and allowed to curl freely. When they are about eleven or twelve, the
hair should be twisted into a coil, not too tight, nor tied at the
end with thin thread, but with a piece of riband.
513. _Do not Shave the Head._--Shaving the head is always injurious
to the hair, the bulbs being frequently destroyed by the process; and
washing frequently with an alkaline preparation, such as soap and
water, is decidedly objectionable, for that, as well as sea-water, is
very apt to change the color of the hair.
514. _To purify and beautify the Hair._--An excellent means of
keeping the hair sweet, clean, glossy, and curly, is to brush it with
a rather hard brush dipped by the surface only in eau de Portugal
("Portugal water"). In order to have it fresh and of fine quality,
take a pint of orange flower water, a pint of rose water, and half a
pint of myrtle water. To these put a quarter of an ounce of distilled
spirit of musk, and an ounce of spirit of ambergris. Shake the whole
well together, and the water will be ready for use. Only a small
quantity should be made at a time, as it does not keep long, except
in moderate weather, being apt to spoil either with cold or heat.
515. _To promote the Growth of Hair._--Mix equal parts of olive oil
and spirits of rosemary, and add a few drops of oil of nutmeg. If the
hair be rubbed every night with a little of this liniment, and the
proportion be very gradually augmented, it will answer every purpose
of increasing the growth of hair, much more effectually than can be
attained by any of the boasting empirical preparations which are
imposed on the credulous purchaser.
516. _Curling Liquid for the Hair._--When the hair will not curl
naturally, the curling irons should not be used; they only extract
the moisture, and render the hair crisp and harsh. An excellent
curling liquid is the following:--Put two pounds of common soap, cut
small, into three pints of spirits of wine, with eight ounces of
potash, and melt the whole, stirring it with a clean piece of wood.
Add some essence of amber, vanilla, and nevoli, about a quarter of an
ounce of each, to render the fluid agreeable. The liquids which are
sold for the professed purpose of assisting in curling the hair, are
chiefly composed of either oily or extractive substances.
517. _To prevent Hair from falling out._--Make a strong decoction of
white-oak bark in water, and use it freely. It is best to make but
little at a time, and have it fresh at least once a fortnight.
518. _To avoid Grey Hairs._--Those who would avoid that prominent
mark of approaching old age, called grey hair, must be careful in the
treatment of the hair in their youth. They must avoid constricting
the skin, and strangling the hair at its roots, and everything that
may throw into the blood an undue portion of lime. We say an _undue_
portion, because a certain quantity of lime is indispensable in our
system for repairing the wear and tear of the bones, teeth, &c. The
lime necessary for the repair of bone is manufactured by the stomach
and liver, along with the blood, from various articles of our diet
which contain it. The greatest supply is usually from the water
which we drink, or which is employed in the various processes of
cooking and preparing liquors. All animal food also contains some
portion of lime, as well as some of the sorts of vegetable food.
Ascertain, then, by chemical trial, whether the water used for your
tea, coffee, soups, &c., contains a large proportion of lime; and,
if it do, you must either have it chemically purified, or remove to
some other place where the water is more free from lime. If water
be hard, you may be certain that it contains too much lime to be
safely used. Rain-water is the safest for tea and other liquids.
Bread will always contain a portion of lime; you must, therefore, be
careful in dealing with respectable bakers, who will not increase
that unavoidable quantity by means of adulterating matter (such as
whiting) which contains lime.
519. _To soften and cleanse the Hair._--Beat up an egg, rub it well
into the hair, and then wash the head well. If the hair is very oily,
add the juice of half a lemon. This receipt also answers much better
for washing pet dogs than soap.
520. _To make a Curling Fluid for the Hair._--Melt a piece of white
bees'-wax, about the size of a filbert kernel or large pea, in one
ounce of olive oil; to this add one or two drops of attar of roses or
any other perfume.
521. _Gen. Twiggs' Hair Dye._--Dissolve in a pint of rose-water, one
ounce of lac sulphur, and half an ounce of sugar of lead. Wet the
hair with this mixture thoroughly every night, shaking the bottle
occasionally. Some persons prefer whisky to rose-water, in mixing the
articles.
522. _To change Hair to a deep Brown._--A solution of silver caustic
in water is the foundation of all the nostrums for this purpose. It
must be well diluted before used.
523. _To dye the Hair Black._--Procure from the dyer's a quantity of
walnut-water; and with this wash the hair, as the first part of the
process. Then make an aromatic tincture of galls, by scenting the
common tincture with any agreeable perfume; and with this wet the
hair, which must next be moistened with a strong solution of sulphate
of iron.
524. _A simple Hair-dye._--Boil in a pint of water a handful of
rosemary; when cold, strain and bottle, but do not cork it. Renew it
every few weeks. Wet the hair with it every night.
525. _To darken the Eye-brows._--Take an ounce of walnuts, an ounce
of frankincense, an ounce of resin, and an ounce of mastick. Burn
them all on clear, red-hot charcoal, and receive the fumes into a
funnel, in which a very fine black powder, slightly perfumed and
unctuous, will adhere. Mix this with a little oil of myrtle, in a
leaden mortar, and apply it to the eye-brows. This paste has the
property of resisting both heat and perspiration; but it must be
occasionally renewed. The following method may also be used: Burn
a clove in the flame of a wax-candle, dip it into the juice of
elder-berries, and apply it to the eye-brows. The powder, also,
which is used in the East for painting the eye-lashes, and which is
composed of antimony and bismuth, may be safely and advantageously
used. Or, a paste prepared from powdered black lead, with eau de
Cologne, or oil of myrtle, or essence of bergamot, will suffice for
the purpose. When the eye-brows become long and shaggy, they give a
ferocious and repulsive expression to the countenance. The scissors
should in that case be often used. Some of the longest hairs might
also be removed with the tweezers.
526. _To know whether Hair Powder is adulterated with Lime._--Put a
little crude sal-ammoniac, in powder, to the suspected hair powder,
and add a little warm water to the mixture, and stir it about; if the
powder has been adulterated with lime, a strong smell of volatile
alkali will arise from this mixture.
527. _To perfume Hair Powder._--Take one drachm of musk, four ounces
of lavender blossoms, one and a half drachm of civet, and half a
drachm of ambergris; pound the whole together, and pass it through a
sieve. Preserve this mixture in well-stopped bottles, and add more or
less thereof, as agreeable, in your hair powder.
528. _To improve the Hair._--Powdered hartshorn, mixed with oil,
being rubbed upon the head of persons who have lost their hair,
will cause it to grow again. A very good oil for the hair is made
by mixing one part of the liquid hartshorn with nine parts of pure
castor-oil.
529. _An economical Hair Wash._--Dissolve in one quart of boiling
water one ounce of borax and half an ounce of camphor; these
ingredients fine. When cool, the solution will be ready for use.
Damp the hair with it frequently. This wash not only cleanses and
beautifies, but strengthens the hair, preserves the color, and
prevents baldness.
530. _To remove Superfluous Hair._--This is very difficult, for
if you pull the hair out by the roots from those places which it
disfigures, there are thousands of roots ready to start through
the skin the moment you make room for them. Old authors recommend
depilatories in great variety. The principal of these methods consist
in rubbing upon the part from which the hair is to be removed,
leaven, parsley water, juice of acacia, the gum of ivy or of the
cherry-tree, dissolved in spirits of wine, &c. Madame Elisi Voiart,
in her "Encyclopédie des Dames," recommends a few drops of dulcified
spirit of salt, (that is, muriatic acid distilled with rectified
spirits of wine,) to be applied with a camel hair pencil.
OF THE COMPLEXION.
531. _Never Paint._--The use of white paint as a cosmetic affects the
eyes, which it renders painful and watery. It changes the texture
of the skin, on which it produces pimples; attacks the teeth,
destroys the enamel, and loosens them. It heats the mouth and throat,
infecting and corrupting the saliva. Lastly, it penetrates the pores
of the skin, acting by degrees on the spongy substance of the lungs,
and inducing disease. Powdered magnesia, or violet powder, is no
further injurious than by stopping the pores of the skin; but this is
quite injury enough to preclude its use. The best cosmetics are early
hours, exercise, and temperance.
532. _To soften the Skin and improve the Complexion._--Mix in a cup
of milk a little flowers of sulphur; let it stand for an hour or two;
then, without disturbing the sulphur, rub the milk into the skin. It
will keep it soft and clear. It should be used before washing.
533. _How to treat Freckles._--Most of us have observed the effect
produced on white paper by holding it closely to the fire: it changes
rapidly from white to brown, and becomes scorched. Chemists tell us
that most combustible things, both in the animal and vegetable world,
have carbon for their basis--_so has the skin_; and, if it be exposed
to the heat, it becomes, like them, spotted or charred. The iron and
oxygen in the blood also assist to produce this effect. Thus we have
the cause of freckles. Those who, like Richard Cœur de Lion, and
Mary Queen of Scots, have red hair (which is caused by a red-colored
oil, more strongly impregnated with iron than others), are most
liable to freckles.
The most effectual means of removing freckles, is the use of those
chemicals which will dissolve the existing combination. The freckles
are situated in the second or middle membrane of the skin; and,
before any other application, it will be advisable to soften the
surface by the use of some mild balsam or paste.
534. _For Freckles._--One ounce of bitter almonds, one ditto of
barley flour, mix with a sufficient quantity of honey to make the
whole into a smooth paste; with which the face, more particularly
where the freckles are visible, is to be anointed at night, and the
paste washed off in the morning. After a few days the skin will be
prepared for a chemical remedy.
535. _Another._--To decompose the freckles, by laying hold of the
iron, the following mixture may be applied: Take one drachm of
muriatic acid, half a pint of rain-water, half a tea-spoonful of
spirit of lavender; mix well together, and apply two or three times a
day to the freckles, with a camel's hair brush. The acid seizes upon
the iron, and the oxygen is disengaged.
536. _Purifying water for Freckled Skin._--Take one tea-spoonful of
liquor of potassa, two ounces and a half of pure water, and ten drops
of eau de Cologne. Mix, and apply three times a day with a camel's
hair brush.
537. _Cosmetic Lotion for Freckles._--Take a tea-cupful of cold sour
milk, scrape into it a quantity of horse-radish. Let this stand
from six to twelve hours; and then, being well strained, let it be
applied, as before directed, two or three times a day.
538. _Preventive Wash for Sunburn._--Take two drachms of borax,
one drachm of Roman alum, one drachm of camphor, half an ounce of
sugar-candy, and one pound of ox-gall; mix and stir well together,
and repeat the stirring three or four times a day, until the mixture
becomes transparent; then strain it through filtering paper, and it
is fit for use.
539. _Grape Lotion for Sunburn._--Dip a bunch of green grapes in
a basin of water; sprinkle it with powdered alum and salt, mixed
together; wrap it in paper, and bake it under hot ashes; then express
the remaining juice, and wash the face with the liquid.
540. _Lemon Cream for Sunburn and Freckles._--Put two spoonfuls of
fresh cream into half a pint of new milk; squeeze into it the juice
of a lemon, and half a glass of brandy, a little alum, and loaf
sugar; boil the whole, skim it well, and, when cool, it will be fit
for use.
541. _A French Receipt._--Take equal parts of the seeds of the
melon, pompion, gourd, and cucumber, pounded and reduced to powder
or meal; add to it fresh cream sufficient to dilute the flour; beat
all up together, adding a sufficient quantity of milk, as it may be
required, to make an ointment, and then apply it to the face. Leave
it there for half an hour, and then wash it off with warm soft water.
Pimpernel water is often used on the continent for the purpose of
whitening the complexion. It is there in so high reputation, that it
is said generally that it ought to be continually on the toilet of
every lady who cares for the brightness of her skin.
542. _Moles._--The author of "The Art of Beauty," whose work appeared
in 1824, has very judiciously observed: "The common brown mole
appears to be much of the same nature as freckles, and to be situated
in the middle layer of the skin, or membrane of color. Moles are
sometimes so placed as to improve rather than injure a fine face.
They contrast with the delicacy of a fair skin, and give a pleasing
archness of expression to the countenance. They are, however, most
frequently found on women of a dark complexion. The coloring matter,
as in the case of freckles and sunburn, is probably some chemical
combination of iron. Moles have evidently a superabundant vitality,
and a tendency to increased action, in consequence, perhaps, of the
stimulus of the iron; and hence they are often slightly elevated
above the surface, and the natural down of the skin is changed into
a tuft of hair. The same cosmetic applications may be tried as for
freckles, with gentle friction, but they are seldom successful. But
it will be found very dangerous to apply depilatories to eradicate
the tufts of hair on moles, as cancer in the face is not unfrequently
the consequence of such applications."
543. _Birth Marks._--Let them alone, or apply to some eminent surgeon
to attempt their removal.
544. _Worm Pimple, with black points._--They are very common,
and very unsightly, giving the skin an oily, greasy, and dirty
appearance. Their origin is to be traced to the obstruction of the
fountains or glands placed immediately under the skin, from which a
minute pipe carries off the perspiration. This moisture, not getting
free egress, thickens and closes the pores: it then catches the dust
and other impurities, floating in the atmosphere, and soon becomes
black. If squeezed violently between the nails, this thickened
matter will be driven out, in the form of a yellowish white worm,
with a black head, which is nothing more than the extraneous matter
just mentioned. That there is any vitality in it, is an absurd, but
popular and prevalent error. These pimples generally cluster on the
sides of the nose and on the forehead, whilst the skin around them
is greasy. They should be thoroughly pressed out of every pore, or
there they will remain, and no cosmetic will dislodge them. When
this is effectually done, the following safe and simple application
may be tried: take one ounce of bitter almonds and one ounce of
barley-flour; mix them with honey, until they form a smooth paste,
and anoint the skin at night. Gentle friction, either with the hand
or with a soft glove, is also good. When this state of the skin is
induced by bilious disorders, indigestion, &c., sulphur, purgatives,
and other remedies must be taken to remove it; but not without
medical advice, as they often are the reverse of effectual.
545. _Another simple Remedy._--Bathe the pimples several times a
day with lukewarm water and a sponge, rubbing the sponge over a
piece of yellow soap. There is a truly healing power in soap, which
is surprising when we learn to appreciate it, and which is quite
distinct from mere cleanliness.
546. _Wash for Pimples._--Dissolve half a drachm of salt of tartar
in three ounces of spirit of wine; apply with linen or a camel-hair
pencil.
547. _A Paste for the Skin._--Boil the whites of four eggs in
rose-water; add to it a small quantity of alum; beat the whole to the
consistence of a paste. This will give great firmness to the skin.
548. _Cold Cream._--Take two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, and
one drachm each of white wax and spermaceti, or half an ounce of
white wax alone, which scrape very fine, and put them with the oil
into an earthen dish, to melt slowly on the embers, and stir it
till it becomes quite smooth. When it is cooling, add one ounce of
rose-water, and put it into a gallipot, closely covered. It should be
a very thick cream.
549. _Fard._--This paste is useful in removing sun-burnings, effects
of wind on the face, and accidental cutaneous eruptions. It must be
applied on going to bed. First, wash the face, and, when dry, rub the
fard over it, and let it remain all night. Take two ounces of oil of
sweet almonds, and the same quantity of spermaceti; melt them over a
slow fire. When they are dissolved and mixed, take it from the fire,
and stir into it one table-spoonful of fine honey. Continue stirring
it till it is cold, and it is then fit for use.
550. _Court-plaster, or black Sticking-plaster._--Take half an ounce
of benzoin, and six ounces of rectified spirit; dissolve and strain;
then take one ounce of isinglass, and half a pint of hot water;
dissolve and strain separately from the former. Mix the two, and set
them aside to cool, when a jelly will be formed; and this is warmed
and brushed ten or twelve times over a piece of black silk, stretched
smooth. When this is done enough, and dry, finish it with a solution
of four ounces of chian turpentine in six ounces of tincture of
benzoin.
551. _An excellent Tooth-powder._--One of the best tooth-powders is
made by mixing together one ounce and a half of prepared chalk, half
an ounce of powder of bark, and a quarter of an ounce of camphor.
552. _Charcoal Tooth-powder._--Pound charcoal as fine as possible,
in a mortar, or grind it in a mill; then well sift it, and apply a
little of it to the teeth about twice a week, and it will not only
render them beautifully white, but will also make the breath sweet,
and the gums firm and comfortable.
If the charcoal is ground in a mortar, it is convenient to grind it
in water, to prevent the dust from flying about. Indeed, the powder
is more convenient for use, when kept in water.
553. _A safe Tooth-powder._--Cut a slice of thick bread into squares,
and burn it till it becomes charcoal. Pound it, and sift it through a
_fine_ muslin. It is then ready for use.
554. _Another Tooth-powder._--Mix hartshorn shavings, calcined and
pulverized, three-fifths; myrrh, pulverized, two-fifths.
555. _A good Dentifrice._--Dissolve two ounces of borax in three
pints of boiling water; before it is quite cold, add one tea-spoonful
of tincture of myrrh, and one table-spoonful of spirits of camphor.
Bottle the mixture for use. Add one wine-glassful of the solution
to half a pint of tepid water, and use it daily. It preserves and
beautifies the teeth, arrests decay, and induces a healthy action in
the gums.
556. _Camphor Tooth-powder._--This excellent dentifrice is made by
mixing prepared chalk, finely pulverized, and sifted through a fine
muslin, with an equal quantity of pulverized camphor, prepared in the
same way. It is a good preservative of the teeth.
557. _Orris-root Tooth-powder._--Mix equal quantities of finely
pulverized and sifted orris-root and prepared chalk. Charcoal may
be used instead of chalk, in both these receipts, but it must be
prepared with great care, else its grittiness will injure the enamel
of the teeth.
558. _To whiten the Teeth._--Mix honey with finely powdered charcoal,
and use the paste as a dentifrice.
559. _Wash for the Teeth._--One ounce of myrrh, powdered, and
dissolved in one pint of spirits of wine. A little of this dropped on
the tooth-brush, is excellent for the teeth and gums.
560. _To remove Tartar from the Teeth._--1st. The use of the
tooth-brush night and morning, and at least rinsing the mouth after
every meal at which animal food is taken. 2d. Once daily run the
brush lightly two or three times over soap, then dip it in salt,
and with it clean the teeth, working the brush up and down rather
than--or as well as--backwards and forwards. This is a cheap, safe,
and effectual dentifrice. 3d. Eat freely of common cress--the sort
used with mustard, under the name of small salad; it must be eaten
with salt only. If thus used two or three days in succession, it
will effectually loosen tartar, even of long standing. The same
effect is produced, though perhaps not in an equal degree, by eating
strawberries and raspberries, especially the former. A leaf of common
green sage rubbed on the teeth, is useful both in cleansing and
polishing, and probably many other common vegetable productions also.
561. _Obs._ Soap is not at all a desirable medium for cleaning the
teeth, as, though it may whiten for the time, the alkaline process
destroys the enamel.
562. _To fill a decayed Tooth._--When a tooth is too much decayed
to be filled by a dentist, or the person is at a distance from one,
gutta percha will be found an useful expedient. Drop a small piece
of this substance in boiling water, then taking off as much as will
probably fill the tooth nearly level, press it, while soft, into the
cavity. Then hold cold water in the mouth on that side, to harden it.
It has been known to preserve a tooth two years at least, and keeps
it free from cold.
FOR THE DRESSING-TABLE.
563. _To make soft Pomatum._--Beat half a pound of unsalted fresh
lard in common water; then soak and beat it in two rose-waters; drain
it, and beat it with two spoonfuls of brandy; let it drain from this;
add to it some essence of lemon, and keep it in small pots.
564. _Or_: Soak half a pound of clear beef marrow, and one pound
of unsalted fresh lard, in water, two or three days, changing and
beating it every day. Put it into a sieve, and, when dry, into a
jar, and the jar into a saucepan of water. When melted, pour it into
a basin, and beat it with two spoonfuls of brandy; drain off the
brandy, and then add essence of lemon, bergamot, or any other scent
that is liked.
565. _Hard Pomatum._--Prepare equal quantities of beef marrow and
mutton suet, as before, using the brandy to preserve it, and adding
the scent; then pour it into moulds, or, if you have none, into
phials of the size you choose the rolls to be. When cold, break the
bottles, clear away the glass carefully, and put paper round the
rolls.
566. _Or_: Take equal quantities of marrow, melted and strained,
lard, and castor oil; warm all together; add any scent you please;
stir until cold, and put into pots.
567. _Pomade Divine._--Clear one and a half pound of beef marrow
from the strings and bone; put it into an earthen pan or vessel of
water fresh from the spring, and change the water night and morning
for ten days; then steep it in rose-water twenty-four hours, and
drain it in a cloth till quite dry. Take one ounce of each of the
following articles, namely: storax, gum-benjamin, and odoriferous
cypress powder; half an ounce of cinnamon, two drachms of cloves, and
two drachms of nutmeg, all finely powdered: mix them with the marrow
above prepared; then put all the ingredients into a pewter pot that
holds three pints; make a paste of white of egg and flour, and lay
it upon a piece of rag. Over that must be another piece of linen,
to cover the top of the pot very close, that none of the steam may
evaporate. Put the pot into a large copper pot with water, observing
to keep it steady, that it may not reach to the covering of the
pot that holds the marrow. As the water shrinks, add more, boiling
hot--for it must boil four hours without ceasing a moment. Strain the
ointment through a linen cloth into small pots, and, when cold, cover
them. Do not touch it with anything but silver. It will keep many
years.
568. _To make Jessamine Butter._--Hog's lard melted, and well washed
in fair water, laid an inch thick in a dish, and strewed over with
jessamine flowers, will imbibe the scent, and make a very fragrant
pomatum.
569. _Rowland's Macassar Oil._--This is made by boiling castor oil,
scenting it with oil of roses, and coloring it, while warm, with
alkanet root.
570. _Macassar Oil._--Common oil, three quarts; spirits of wine, half
a pint; cinnamon powder, three ounces; bergamot, two ounces: heat
them together in a large pipkin, then remove it from the fire, and
add four small pieces of alkanet root, keeping it closely covered for
several hours. Let it then be filtered through a funnel lined with
filtering paper.
571. _Wash for the Skin._--Four ounces of potash, four ounces of
rose-water, two ounces of pure brandy, and two ounces of lemon-juice;
put all these into two quarts of water, and when you wash, put a
table-spoonful or two of the mixture into the basin of water you
intend washing in.
572. _To make Milk of Roses._--To one pint of rose-water, add one
ounce of oil of almonds and ten drops of the oil of tartar.
N. B.--Let the oil of tartar be poured in last.
573. _Almond Paste._--Blanch half a pound of sweet almonds and a
quarter of a pound of bitter almonds, and beat them to powder in a
mortar with half a pound of loaf sugar; then beat them into a paste
with orange-flower water.
574. _Almond Powder._--Blanch six pounds of bitter almonds, dry and
beat them, and press from them one pint of oil; then beat them in an
iron mortar, and pass the powder through a sieve. Keep it from air
and moisture in a glass jar. Used instead of soap for washing the
hands, it imparts a singular delicacy to their appearance.
575. _Violet Powder._--This preparation is universally applied for
drying the skin after washing, especially at the joints, which,
if left even damp, produces chaps and chafing, often followed, if
neglected, by inflammation. Violet powder is best prepared by mixing
three parts of the best wheat starch with one of finely-ground
orris-root; the latter adds to the drying power of the starch,
and imparts, at the same time, an agreeable odor like that of
violet--hence the name of the mixture. It is also prepared by
perfuming starch with essential oils, without the addition of
orris-root: but, though the scent of the powder is stronger, and
to some more tempting to use, it is far less beneficial in its
application. The scent, acting as a stimulant to the skin, increases
rather than abates any tendency to redness. Unperfumed powder is,
therefore, the best to use, dusted over the part with a little brush
made of swan's-down, called a puff.
576. _Another Powder for Chaps, &c._--Take dry hemlock bark, powder
it, by rubbing on a fine grater; then sift this powder through gauze
or muslin, and sprinkle it lightly on the part chapped. It is a safe
and certain curative.
577. _Pearl White._--Bismuth dissolved in aqua-fortis, is pearl
white. This, though at first it whitens, afterwards blackens the
skin, as all preparations from lead do; and therefore none of them
are safely to be used.--_Dr. Moyes' Lectures._
578. _Pot-pourri._--Put into a large china jar the following
ingredients in layers, with bay-salt strewed between the layers:
two pecks of damask roses, part in buds and part blown; violets,
orange-flowers, and jessamine, a handful of each; orris-root sliced,
benjamin and storax, two ounces of each; quarter of an ounce of musk;
quarter of a pound of angelica root, sliced; a quart of the red
parts of clove-gillyflowers; two handfuls of lavender flowers; half
a handful of rosemary flowers; bay and laurel leaves, half a handful
of each; three Seville oranges, stuck as full of cloves as possible,
dried in a cool oven, and pounded; half a handful of knotted
marjoram; and two handfuls of balm of Gilead, dried. Cover all quite
close. When the pot is uncovered the perfume is very fine.
579. _A quicker sort of sweet Pot-pourri._--Take three handfuls of
orange-flowers, three of clove-gillyflowers, three of damask roses,
one of knotted marjoram, one of lemon-thyme, six bay-leaves, a
handful of rosemary, one of myrtle, half of mint, one of lavender,
the rind of a lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves. Chop all,
and put them in layers, with pounded bay-salt between, up to the tip
of the jar.
If all the ingredients cannot be obtained at once, put them in as you
get them; always throwing in salt with every new article.
580. _Hungary Water._--Mix one quart of spirits of wine; half a pint
of water; and three-quarters of an ounce of oil of rosemary.
581. _Lavender Water._--Mix in a quart bottle three drachms of oil
of lavender; one pint rectified spirit of wine; shake them well
together, and add an ounce of orange-flower water, an ounce of
rose-water, four ounces of distilled water, and, if you like, two or
three drachms of essence of musk.
582. _Rose-water._--When the roses are in full bloom pick the leaves
carefully off, and to every quart of water put a peck of them; put
them in a cold still over a slow fire, and distil gradually; then
bottle the water; let it stand in the bottle three days, and then
cork it close.
583. _Another._--Take two pounds of rose leaves, place them on a
napkin tied round the edges of a basin filled with hot water, and
put a dish of cold water upon the leaves; keep the bottom water hot,
and change the water at top as soon as it begins to grow warm. By
this kind of distillation you will extract a great quantity of the
essential oil of the roses by a process which cannot be expensive,
and will prove very beneficial.
584. _Tincture of Roses._--Put into a bottle the petals of the common
rose, and pour upon them spirits of wine; cork the bottle, and let it
stand for two or three months. It will then yield a perfume little
inferior to attar of roses. Common vinegar is much improved by a very
small quantity of this mixture being added to it.
585. _Honey Water._--One ounce of essence of bergamot, three drachms
of English oil of lavender, half a drachm of oil of cloves, half a
drachm of aromatic vinegar, six grains of musk, one and a half pint
of spirits of wine. Mix and distil.
586. _Honey Water._--Take one pint of spirit as above, and three
drachms of essence of ambergris; shake them well daily.
587. _Sweet-scented Water._--Put one quart of rose-water, and the
same quantity of orange-water, into a large and wide-mouthed glass:
strew upon it two handfuls of jessamine flowers; put the glass in the
_balneum mariæ_, or on a slow fire, and when it is distilled, add to
it a scruple of musk and the same quantity of ambergris.
588. _A very fine Scent._--Take six drachms of oil of lavender, three
of the essence of bergamot, sixty drops of ambergris, and two grains
of musk. Mix these into a pint of the best rectified spirits of wine.
589. _To whiten the Hands._--Take a wine-glassful of eau de Cologne,
and another of lemon-juice; then scrape two cakes of brown Windsor
soap, or the same quantity of pure white soap, to a powder, and mix
well in a mould. When hard, it will be excellent for whitening the
hands.
590. _Camphor Cerate for Chapped Hands._--The following receipt was
given to the contributor by a maid of honor to Queen Victoria. It is
an excellent one. Scrape into an _earthen_ vessel one ounce and a
half of spermaceti and half an ounce of white wax; add six drachms
of pounded camphor, and four table-spoonfuls of the best olive oil.
Let it stand near the fire till it dissolves, stirring it well when
liquid. _Before_ the hands are washed, rub them thoroughly with a
little of the cerate, then wash them as usual. Putting the cerate
on before retiring, answers very well. This quantity costs about
twenty-five cents, and will last three winters. The vessel it is kept
in should be covered, to prevent evaporation.
591. _Paste for Chapped Hands._--Mix a quarter of a pound of unsalted
lard, which has been washed in soft water, and then in rose-water,
with the yolks of two new-laid eggs, and a large spoonful of honey.
Add as much fine oatmeal or almond-paste as will work into a paste.
_Or_:--Blanch one pound of bitter almonds, and pound them smooth in
a marble mortar; add half an ounce of camphor, one ounce of honey,
quarter of a pound of spermaceti, pounded and mixed with the almonds,
till it becomes a smooth paste. Put it into jars, and tie it down
till wanted.
592. _To prevent inconvenience from Perspiration of the
Hands._--Ladies who work lace or embroidery sometimes suffer
inconvenience from the perspiration on their hands; which may be
remedied, by rubbing the hands frequently with a little dry wheaten
bran.
593. _Another._--Any of the milder kinds of soaps will be found to
answer the purpose of keeping the hands clean, soft, and as white as
nature will permit.
594. _For preserving the Nails._--One ounce of oil of bitter almonds;
one drachm of oil of tartar per deliquium; one ounce of prepared
crabs'-eyes. Mix up with essence of lemon, to scent it.
La Forest recommends rubbing the nails with lemon as a detergent.
595. _To whiten the Nails._--Mix two drachms of diluted sulphuric
acid, one drachm of tincture of myrrh, and four ounces of
spring-water. Cleanse the nails with soap, and then dip the fingers
in the mixture.
596. _To remove Stains from the Hands._--Dip your hands in warm
water, and rub on the stain a small portion of oxalic acid powder
and cream of tartar, mixed together in equal quantities. Keep it in
a box. When the stain disappears, wash the hands with fine soap or
almond cream. A box of this stain powder should always be kept on
hand.
597. _To make Wash-balls._--Shave thin two pounds of new white soap
into about a tea-cupful of rose-water, then pour on as much boiling
water as will soften it. Put into a brass pan a pint of sweet oil,
half an ounce of oil of almonds, half a pound of spermaceti, and set
all over the fire till dissolved; then add the soap and half an ounce
of camphor, that has first been reduced to powder by rubbing it in a
mortar, with a few drops of spirits of wine, or lavender-water, or
any other scent. Boil ten minutes, then pour it into a basin, and
stir it till it is quite thick enough to roll into hard balls, which
must then be done immediately. If essence is used, stir it in quickly
after it is taken off the fire.
598. _Essence of Soap, for shaving or washing hands._--Take a pound
and a half of fine white soap, in thin slices, and add thereto two
ounces of salt of tartar; mix them well together, and put this
mixture into one quart of spirits of wine, in a bottle which will
hold double the quantity of the ingredients: tie a bladder over the
mouth of the bottle, and prick a pin through the bladder; set it to
digest in a gentle heat, and shake the contents from time to time,
taking care to take out the pin at such times, to allow passage for
the air from within. When the soap is dissolved, filter the liquor
through paper, to free it from impurities; then scent it with a
little bergamot or essence of lemon. It will have the appearance of
fine oil, and a small quantity will lather with water like soap, and
is much superior in use for washing or shaving.
599. _Naples Soap._--Put into a pipkin or saucepan half a pint of
ley, (strong enough to bear an egg,) with two ounces of lamb suet and
one ounce of olive oil; simmer them over a fire until they be thick,
when pour the mixture into a flat pan, cover it with glass, and
expose it to the heat of the sun for seven weeks, stirring it once a
day: the soap will then be made, and may be perfumed with a few drops
of oil of ambergris, which should be well mixed. Put the soap into
small jars, and it will be improved by keeping.
600. _Transparent Soap._--Put into a bottle Windsor soap, in thin
shavings; half fill with spirits of wine, and set it near the fire
till the soap be dissolved, when pour it into a mould to cool.
601. _Genuine Windsor Soap._--To make this famous soap for washing
the hands, shaving, &c., nothing more is necessary than to slice the
best white soap as thin as possible, melt it in a stew-pan over a
slow fire, scent it well with oil of caraway, and then pour it into a
frame or mould made for that purpose, or a small drawer, adapted in
size and form to the quantity. When it has stood three or four days
in a dry situation, cut into square pieces, and it is ready for use.
By this simple mode, substituting any more favorite scent for that of
caraway, all persons may suit themselves with a good perfumed soap,
at the most trifling expense.
602. _To make Lady Derby's Soap._--Two ounces of bitter almonds,
blanched, one ounce and a quarter of tincture of benjamin, one pound
of good plain white soap, and one piece of camphor the size of a
walnut. The almonds and camphor are to be beaten in a mortar until
they are completely mixed, then work up with them the tincture of
benjamin. The mixture being perfectly made, work the soap into it
in the same manner. If the smell is too powerful of the camphor and
tincture of benjamin, melt the soap by the fire, and the perfume will
go off. This soap has been tried by many persons of distinction, is
excellent in its qualities for cleansing the skin, and will be found
greatly to assist the complexion, the ingredients being perfectly
safe.
603. _To make superior Honey Soap._--Cut into thin shavings two
pounds of common yellow or white soap; put it on the fire with just
water enough to keep it from burning: when quite melted, add a
quarter of a pound of honey, stirring it till it boils; then take
it off, and add a few drops of any agreeable perfume: pour it into
a deep dish to cool, and then cut it into squares. It improves by
keeping. It will soften and whiten the skin.
604. _Paste for Chapped Lips._--Put four ounces of olive oil into a
bottle with one ounce of alkanet root; stop it up, and set it for
some days in the sun, shaking it often until it becomes perfectly
bright; then strain the oil from the alkanet, add to it one ounce of
white wax, and one ounce and a half of clarified mutton suet: let the
mixture simmer a little while over a slow fire. When it begins to
cool, mix with it a few drops of any essential oil.
605. _Chapped or Sore Lips._--May be healed by the frequent
application of honey-water, and protecting them from the influence of
cold air.
606. _Lip Salve._--Melt together an ounce of white wax, the same of
beef marrow, and three ounces of white pomatum, with a small piece of
alkanet root, tied in muslin; perfume, when cool, with attar of rose
or any other essence. It should be strained while hot.
607. _Bad Breath from Onions._--A few leaves of parsley eaten with
vinegar, will prevent any disagreeable consequences from eating
onions.
608. _Wash for the Mouth._--An excellent wash for the mouth is made
of half an ounce of tincture of myrrh and two ounces of Peruvian
bark. Keep in a phial for use. A few drops in a glass of water are
sufficient.
609. _Eau de Cologne._--Mix essence of bergamot, lemon, lavender,
and orange-flower, of each one drachm; essence of cinnamon, half a
drachm; spirit of rosemary, and honey-water, each two ounces; spirits
of wine, one pint: let the mixture stand two weeks, then put it in a
glass retort, the body of which immerse in boiling water contained
in a vessel placed over a lamp, while the beak of the retort is
introduced into a large reservoir (a decanter, for example): keep the
water boiling, while the mixture will distil into the receiver, which
should be covered with cold wet cloths. In this manner Cologne-water
may be obtained as good as the best Farina, at one-fourth the price.
A coffee-lamp or nursery-furnace will best answer to boil the water.
The above is the most simple method of _distilling_, without the
regular _still_.
610. _To make Eau de Cologne._--Rectified spirits of wine, four
pints; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce;
oil of rosemary, half a drachm; oil of Neroli, three-quarters of a
drachm; oil of English lavender, one drachm; oil of oranges, one
drachm. Mix well, and then filter. If these proportions are too
large, smaller ones may be used.
611. _A very pleasant Perfume, and also preventive against
Moths._--Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon,
and Tonquin beans, of each one ounce; then add as much Florentine
orris-root as will equal the other ingredients put together. Grind
the whole well to powder, and then put it in little bags, among your
clothes, &c.
612. _Method of extracting Essences from Flowers._--Procure a
quantity of the petals of any flowers which have an agreeable
fragrance; card thin layers of cotton, which dip into the finest
Florence or Lucca oil; sprinkle a small quantity of fine salt on the
flowers, and lay them, a layer of cotton and a layer of flowers,
until an earthen vessel or a wide-mouthed glass bottle is full.
Tie the top close with a bladder, then lay the vessel in a south
aspect to the heat of the sun, and in fifteen days, when uncovered,
a fragrant oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass, little
inferior (if roses are used) to the highly-valued attar of roses.
613. _Curious small Cakes of Incense for perfuming Apartments._--Take
equal quantities of lignum rhodium and anise, in powder, with a
little powder of dried Seville orange-peel, and the same of gum
benzoin, or benjamin, and beat all together in a marble mortar: then,
adding some gum-dragon, or tragacanth, dissolved in rose-water,
put in a little civet; beat the whole again together; make up this
mixture into small cakes, and place them on paper to dry. One of
these cakes being burnt in the largest apartment, will diffuse a most
agreeable odor through the whole room.
614. _To perfume Linen._--Rose-leaves dried in the shade, cloves
beat to a powder, and mace, scraped; mix them together, and put the
composition into little bags.
615. _To make an excellent Smelling-bottle._--Take an equal quantity
of sal-ammoniac and unslaked lime, pound them separately, then mix,
and put them in a bottle to smell to. Before you put in the above,
drop two or three drops of the essence of bergamot in the bottle,
then cork it close. A drop or two of ether, added to the same, will
greatly improve it.
616. _Aromatic Vinegar._--Throw into two pounds of acetic acid
one ounce each of the dried tops of rosemary and the dried leaves
of sage, half an ounce each of the dried flowers of lavender and
of bruised cloves. Let them remain untouched for seven days; then
express the liquid and filter it through paper. This is useful in
sick rooms.
617. _Lavender Vinegar._--Prepare a stone jar or bottle, and to each
pint of vinegar put into it, add half an ounce of fresh lavender
flowers; cover closely, and set it aside for a day or two; then set
the jar upon hot cinders for eight or ten hours; and when cold,
strain and bottle it. It is a refreshing perfume.
618. _Spirit and Oil of Roses._--A few drops of attar of roses,
dissolved in spirits of wine, form the _esprit de rose_ of the
perfumers; and the same quantity dissolved in fine sweet oil, their
_huile antique à la rose_.
619. _Essence of Musk._--Mix one drachm of musk with the same
quantity of pounded loaf sugar; add six ounces of spirit of wine:
shake together, and pour off for use.
Musk is seldom obtained pure: when it smells of ammonia, it is
adulterated. To preserve it, it should be made quite dry; when to be
used as a perfume, it should be moistened.
620. _Odeur Delectable._--Mix four ounces of distilled rose-water,
four ounces of orange-flower water, one drachm of oil of cloves, two
drachms of oil of bergamot, two grains of musk, one pint of spirits
of wine. Macerate thoroughly, and add one drachm of essence of musk.
This delicious scent is a universal favorite with the ladies of the
_beau monde_ in Paris.
621. _Eau D'Ange._--Pound in a mortar fifteen cloves and one pound
of cinnamon; put the whole into a quart of water, with four grains
anise-seed; let it stand over a charcoal fire twenty-four hours; then
strain off the liquor and bottle it. The perfume is excellent, and
will be useful for the hands, face, and hair.
622. _Shaving._--The hone and razor-strop should be kept in good
condition. The German hone is best: it should be frequently moistened
with oil, and laid up in a place where it will not readily become
dry: if it be rubbed with soap, instead of oil, previously to using,
it will give additional keenness and fineness to the edge of the
razor.
The strop should also be kept moist with a drop or two of sweet oil:
a little crocus and oil rubbed in the strop with a glass bottle will
give the razor a fine edge; as will also a paste made of tutty powder
and solution of oxalic acid.
Mr. Knight, president of the Horticultural Society, has invented
the following apparatus and method of sharpening a razor: Procure a
round bar of cast steel, three inches long, and about one-third of
an inch in diameter; rub it smooth from end to end with glass paper;
next, smear over its surface a paste of oil and the charcoal of wheat
straw, and fix the steel into a handle. To set a razor, dip it in hot
water, raise its back, and move it without pressure, in circles, from
heel to point, and back again; clean the blade on the palm of the
hand, and again dip it into hot water. This newly invented apparatus
may be purchased at any cutler's.
A very small piece of nitre, dissolved in water and applied to the
face after shaving, will remove any unpleasant sensation, though the
first application may be somewhat painful.
623. _Shaving Liquids._--1. Rub in a marble mortar an ounce of any
fine soap, with two drachms of carbonate of potassa. When these two
substances are incorporated, continue rubbing, and add gradually a
pint of lavender-water, or any other odorous water made by dissolving
essential oils in alcohol sixty degrees above proof. When the whole
is well combined, filter the liquid, and bottle it for use. To make
a lather, put a few drops into a wine-glass of tepid water; dip your
brush in the mixture, and, when rubbed on the face, a fine lather
will appear. 2. Dissolve any quantity of fine soap in alcohol, either
with or without perfume. Use it according to the preceding directions.
624. _An Easy Shave._--The operation of shaving may be robbed of its
unpleasant sensations by rubbing the chin over with grease, or a
sweet oil, before the application of the razor. The best razor-strop
in the world is one's own hand, moistened with its own natural oil or
perspiration. Sharpen the razor thus before you wash your hands, and
you will find this natural strop most efficacious. After shaving, to
allay irritation, wash the chin with Portugal water.
625. _Composition for Shaving, without the use of razor, soap, or
water._--Mix one pint and a half of clear lime-water, two ounces of
gum-Arabic, half an ounce of isinglass, an eighth of an ounce of
cochineal, a quarter of an ounce of turmeric-root (made into powder),
an eighth of an ounce of salt of tartar, and an eighth of an ounce of
cream of tartar, together: boil them for one hour at least (stirring
up the mixture during the whole time of boiling, and be careful not
to let it boil over), clear it through a sieve; then add two and
a half pounds of pumice stone, finely pulverized; mix the whole
together with the hands, by the assistance of the white of two eggs,
well stirred up. Then divide the cake into twelve small ones. Dry
them in the open air for three days; put them into an oven moderately
heated for twenty-four hours, when they will be ready for use. Apply
them, with a gentle friction, to the beard, and they will produce the
effect of shaving by rubbing off the hair.