P REFAC E

NOW this to me speaks as the rol l of

thunder that cannot be denied —you m us t hear i t ;

and ho w can yo u shut y ou r ears to W hat this l ark
si n gs th is violet tells this l ittle grey shel l writes i n
, ,

t he curl of its spire ? The bitter truth that hu man

l i fe is n o more to the un iverse than that o f the
unnoticed hill snail in the grass should make us
-

t hink m ore and m ore highly of ourselves as i mma zz

—as men — l iving th ings that th in k . We must

think ou rselves into an earthly i mmortal ity . By

day and by night by years and by centuries still

, ,

striving studying searching to fi nd that which

, ,

shal l enabl e us to l ive a full er l ife u pon the earth

to have a wider grasp upon its violets and l ov el i

ness a d eepe r draught

, of the sweet briar wind
-
.

There is no hope on the old l ines — they are dead ,

like the empty shells .

 I ND EX

PAG E

I . O N BEAUT Y AS A S CI EN CE

II . ON TH E S CI EN C E OF P ER S ONA L BEA UTY

III ON. THE ART OF D RESS A S AN AI D

BEA UTY

I v. ON A GOO D C I R CU LAT I ON AS A S O U RCE OF

BEAU TY 5I

v ON . S O U ND NERV ES A S A S OUR C E OF BEAUT Y 63

v1 . ON T H E FUN CT I ON S OF TH E S KI N W I TH

REG ARD TO BEAUTY

( Con tin u ed ) TH E H A I R AND I TS BEAUTY
VI I . ON A G OO D CO MPLEXI ON As A S OUR C E
BEAUTY
V III ON. DI ET A S AN AI D T o BEAUTY
ON H APP I NE SS A S A BEAUT Y P H I LTRE
-

X P RA CT I CA L
. H I NT S FO R P ER S ONAL BEAUTY
 C O NTENTS

C H A P TE R I .

P AG E

THE S ci en ce of B ea u ty —The I d ea l i sa ti on
U n i v ers al
o f t he Rea l — Vari ous C o n ce pti o n s o f B ea u ty — Th e

Reas on of Crea t i o n —V ari o us F o rm s of B eau t y ex

h ib ited E xt an t —T h e C a u se O f N a ti o n al D eca
d e n ce S o ul v ersu s Arm s an d Leg s — T h e
”
,
“

A po s t l e o f th e B eau tifu l Ni n et ee n t h C en t u ry
-

A dam s an d t h ei r Opi n i o n s — D i s eas e an d Pes

s im is m co n t ras t ed w it h H ea l th an d H appi n es s

C H A P TE R II .

THE C ul t ur e o f B eau ty in t he A b s t ra ct an d of ,

—
P h y s i ca l B eau t y in P art i cu l ar Th e B od y as the “

E n el o pe o f t h e S o ul — B eau t y as a M ere
v

Q u e s ti o n o f G e o g ra p h y — D ar wi n o n S t an d ard s of
F e m in i n e B ea u ty T h e B eau ty of U g l i n ess
H arm on y of M o ti o n — Dres s in R el ati o n t o
— —
B ea u ty Th e T h ree P urpo ses o f D ress W o m an s '
’

G rea t es t C h arm l i es in h er F em in in it y—A N aked

T ru t h mor e d i gn i fied t h an an Art i fici al Lie —D i sease
acco un t e d a Cri m e— T h ree G en erat i on s o f S el fi s h

W o m en — T h ree G rea t es t F oes t o F em in i n e B eau ty

—Breath D rill — A dam n d E v e—B ea u t y o f th e
a
-

1x
X CO N TE N TS .

P AG B

E ye—T h e Ar t o f G raceful n ess—M at ur it y v ersu s

You t h — Th e S ecre t of K eepi n g Y o un g — B eau t y
o f V o i ce— T wo E pi t ap h s —A P res cripti on fo r
B eau ty

C H A P T ER I I I .

C L OTH I N G v ersus Dress —Th e T h r ee C an on s t o be

o b s erv ed in D res s i n g W ell —A pp ro p r i a t en es s o f

S t y l e—C om pl exi o n v ers u s C o l ours—Th e Val u e o f

Y ell o w s— Fi g ure an d S ty l e— I n d i v i d ual i ty in Dres s
T h e I m p or t an ce o f C o iffu r e — O v i d on H ai r
D res si n g — D et ai l an d S u i t ab i l i ty in Dres s

C H A P TE R IV .

THE C i rcu ati on Of the B l ood — C on s ti t uen t s o f

l

H eal t h y B l ood — B l oo d F orm a ti on — V ei n s an d Ar

-

t eries— H ow W hy an d W h en we B reat h e—The

, ,

P ort al C i rcu l ati on — B eau t y H appi n es s an d t h e

, ,

L i v er— C on s tip ati on —Kn i ck ers v ersu s P et ti co at s

—I m p or t an ce of F res h A i r an d W ell Ven ti l at ed -

R oom s

C H A PTE R V .

NERV E -
C ENT RE s— A n at o m y of th e Nerv ou s S y s t em
V ar i ous K i n ds of N er ves —N erv e F orce an d it s -

G e n erat ion N erv ou s D eran g em en t s N erv es

an d Ar t er i es — A S o u n d M i n d in a S o u n d B o d y
— S l eep E x erci se M ass ag e an d “ E n v i r on m en t ”
, , ,

— P h y s i ol o gi cal E fi ect s of M as sag e—Th e C omm o n

’

P rob l em
 C O N T E N TS xi

C H A P TE R V I .

S kin is — H ow W rin k l es co m e—C h emical

P AG E

W HAT t he

C haract er of the S carf S k i n —W h y S oa p is a'

N ecessar y—T o “ ha t t he C o l o ur O f the C om p l exi o n

is d u e—The D erm a o r T ru e S kin — N e rv es an d
B l ood Ves sels of the S kin —T h e P o res Of t he S k in
-

—B a t h s—Th e A— Z s th etic Val ue Of B aths — S hak e

’
s peare s A d vice t o \Vo m en

C HA P TE R VI .

T HE H air an d its S tr c I ts C o l ou r an d C urlin g

P ro pert i es — P rema tu re B al dn es s an d G re y n es s
S t ren gt h an d E la s t i ci ty o f H air— H ow t o C l ea n s e
t h e H a i r — V ariou s R es t o re rs — Eye b ro w s an d
-

E ye l a h es
- s

C H APT E R VII .

D I ANE DE PO I C TI E RS- C os m eti cs— Art v ersus Art ifici

ality — A n ci en t Ar ts o f th e T o il e tt e— H o w t o w as h

th e Fa ce—V ariou s S o r ts o f C om p l e xi o n s an d h o w
,

t o t rea t t h em — S oa ps Good an d Ba d — S k i n fo od s
,
-

an d \Va t er s o ft en e rs — A R efres h er for th e

”

F ace P ers pirati on an d C o m p l exion — Variou s

R ecipes fo r Va ri o u s D efec t s Lo tion s
Ti red E yes — Red N o ses— Th e B ea ut y o f th e
M out h an d T ee t h — B eau tifu l Arms — C h aract er in
H an ds —Th e F oo t — Th e Ear an d it s S iz e—D eaf
n e s s ca u s ed b y E x ces s i e U se o f P erfum e
v s —H o w

to m ak e u p t he F a ce A rtis tica ll y — V ar i ou s
S ha d es o f R ou g e
 C O NT E NT S .

C H A P TE R V I I I .

P AC 2

H AB I TUA L I n d i g esti on a G reat Foe t o B eau t y

S y m pt om s o f I n d ig es ti on —H ow t o A v o i d an d C ure
I n di g es ti on — G od an d the D ev i l —W i n e an d M i l k
— Tea b i bb i n g or W i n e b i bb i n g — H eal t h fu l C on
- -

d iti on of th e S t om ach ab s ol u t el y n eces sar y t o a

G o od D i g es ti on — Nerv e F orce in R el at i on t o
-

H eal t h an d D ig es ti on — P all i ati v es an d C ures

-
F oods—H ow to F eed O ursel ves

C H A P TE R I X .

H AP P I NE SS a B eau ty P h i l t re C au ses p rodu ci n g

-

U n h appi n ess — T he T rue S ci en ce o f H appi n es s

—A C om m on s en se Prescrip tIon for H appi n es s
A S h ort C at ech i s m — O n M ak i n g t he B es t o f L ife
B eau t y an d S an it y Wel ts e/z m erz — R ecup era
t i v e P o w ers of I s ol ati o n an d R ep o s e—Th e Art of
F or g etti n g

C HAPTE R X .

B EAUT Y C u l t ure—P r acti cal H i n t s on P ers on al

— — ’
B eau ty F aci al M assag e L En v oi
 BEAUTY C U LTU RE .

C H AP T E R I .

O N BE A U T Y AS A S C I ENC E .

The earth is al ways beau tif l —al wa ys

u .
”

“
I am the sp i
rit o f t he harml ess eart h.

G od p ke m e so ftly ou t am o n g the s tars

s a ,

As so ft l y as a b l a sin g o f m uch won h ;

An d then his sm il e did fo ll o w un am res,
That all th in gs fas hi ed f r us e
on so , o or du ty ,

Might shin e an o in ted with his chris m of b eaut y .

”

TH E science of beauty— but , is there such a thin g ?

U ndoubtedly . The more C losely we study the
l aws that hold sway throughout the un iverse , t he

more d eeply we are ab l e to real ise th is fact an d

'

the better we are able to com prehend that the

whole s cience of beauty has been embodied for us
2 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

in i ts creation . B eauty has SO many forms ,

so

many phases . We are s o constantly seeing it al l

around us in what ,
fo r want of a better name we ,

cal l N ature that we have forgotten to seek out its

,

source i n order to classify i t and call it a science .

S till it is there whatever we m ay choose to call it

, ,
.

B eauty of tone , of colour , of form , of movement ,

are each and all of them the result of certain fi xed

scientifi c laws the principles of which are beyond
,

us . We are all so ignorant when it comes to any

rea l k nowledge— even the wisest amongst us— we
can only gather up a cru mb of knowledge here or

there and try to utilise it for the benefit

, o f ou r

selves and others . From the sublime harmonies

of the ever restless ocean the glorious colour
-
,

schemes Of the A urora B orealis , the awesome

majesty o f snow capped heights and black bottom -

l ess abysses to the weird clammy mystery of a

L ondon fog we , my a range up and down the
gamut of o ur daily experiences and find that
this same science of beauty pervades them
all ,
if we d o but possess the eyes that see
and the ears that hear and the spirit that
u n d ers t an d eth .
 O N BEAU TY AS A S C I E N CE .
3

I n his t wo D ial ogues on B eauty , Pl ato tells us

that i t cons ists in propo rtion and sym metry ;
C icero thought that the Science O f beauty was
u ni form ity an d agreement S t A u gustine resolves
.

the question of beauty into tru th and unity ;

C rou z as expand s i t into vari ety unity regul ari ty , , ,

order and propo rtion ; H ogarth i n his celebrated

,

”
A nalysis of B eauty , refers it al l to waving l ines
and intri cacy Of d esign ; H utcheson expl ains it as
u ti lity uniformity and variety
, , ; B urke considered
it as being something that is l ittl e s moo th del icate , , ,

an d eas ily inj ured ;

-
an d S ir J oshua R eyn ol ds
“
decided that it l ay in ord in ary , everyday ,

com monplace li fe ; Aken sid e an d A ddison , on

the con trary referred it to a s pec ial intern al sen se

,

w hich d is covered beauty as the eye sees l ight ; and

in our o wn day Richard J efi ed es seems to have
hel d the same tenets for he says , : H e who has
got the sense of beauty i n his eye can fi nd it in
things as they really are . I deal ise to th e full but ,

!
ideal ise the real else th e picture is a sh am
,
.

Ah the pi ty O f it the pity Of it we are l ed

,

to excl ai m invol untarily as we gaze u pon the great ,

m ass of hu man be ings for the majori ty , of whom

4 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

this sublime science has neither voice nor mean

ing , whose eyes are bl inded ,
whose ears are
deafened whose hearts are narrowed whose souls
, ,

a re W ingless .

F or long l ong ages the forces Of Natu r e have

, ,

been vainly t rying to teach every on e of us the

greatness and grandeur of this science . We are
always asking for the reas on of C reation . We
d o not seem able to real ise that the answer is
there and an all
,
-
su fficien t answer too
, .

A nd God saw al l that he had mad e and beho l d ,

”
it was very g ood .

G o d,
the C reator N ature the First C ause l et
, , ,
-

us cal l i t what you will — the f act remains the ,

same the whole universe was created not spas

, ,
~

m odical ly, or casually but accord ing to certain

,

fi xed scienti fic principles recognised to day -

. The
r esult of this system was perfect beauty ; and the
latest the ,
v er
y latest l in k in this chain
, of evolution
was woman .

I S i t not a passion fo r the beautiful that fi lls the

artist soul with wondrous conceptions exquisite
-
,

harmonies o f sound marvel lous pictures stupendous

, ,

sculptures poems in wood and stone P—C on cep

,
 ON B EA U T Y AS A S C I E N CE .
5

tions too that are rarely capable

, ,
of po rtrayal as

fire! were con ceiv ed . We are so u n able to express

ourselves adequatel y because th e science , of beauty
is s til l s o mu ch in its i nfan cy . We ca n only m use
wi th a fee ling that is h al f d es pair even u pon , o ur

best e ffo rts and hop e that sympathetic souls may

,

fin d there the beau ty we h ave humbly tri ed o ur

l ittl e bes t to em body for them .

I s it not equally a nameless instin ctive love of ,

beauty a long ing for the ethical perfecti on

,
of

good ness and purity , that gives us our s aints ,

o ur martyrs , our reform ers ; our General Gordons

an d o ur Florence N ightin gales our J oan of
,
A rcs

and our B ishop Pattersons

“
The beauty of holiness is no mere ph ras e .

It is part of the origina l scien ce that created the

world and i t is as much a re ali ty as is the m anl y
,

form Of a Gr eek god ,

or the su perb tendernes s in
the face O f a V enus Genetri x .

Moreover i t is t his sam e instin ctive fee l in g for

,

the science of creation that has evolved for us

every great poet eve ry great writer , ,
in every
“
l an guage and in every cli m e so that ,
the beauty
”
Of intell ect , t oo , is an ac tu al factor in the history
6 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

of the world . I ndeed we need only gl ance cursorily

,

bac k to the very earliest times in order to see that

it is j ust this fai th i n the beautifu l that has a l ways
lain at the base of al l that is noble true and happy , ,
.

I t has been sung and preached and painted and

, , ,

sculptured and thought and felt and d reamt

, , ,
o f,

and longed for, and striven after eve r since the ,

world began and it is only when we have at last

,

attained to a perfect and comp l ete knowledge

Of this science of beauty that the m illenniu m of

bliss will ever break upon us either here ,

or —there .

This end o f a—
century is a period
- -
of decadence ,

we are being told continually . If this be so there ,

must be a reason for it . E very e ffect must

naturally have its cause and that cause is not far,

to seek it lies pri marily in the degenerate health

,

of the world at l arge . When the national taste in

art and l iterature becomes debased it becomes S O ,

because the physical condition Of the nation is

decl ining because the healthful instincts
,
of the
mind are being obliterated by the morbid action of

a vitiated nervous system . I t has always been so ,

as a matter of fact and facts are stubborn things

,

to deal with . B rowning puts this C lose un iOn of

 ON B EAU T As A S C I E N CE
Y

the moral and physica l frequently before us in

many of his poe m s .
“
B ody an d soul are one
thing with t wo
“
na mes , he cri es
.

, in Red C otton
Nightca p .
”
We need onl y gl an ce backw ards over
the history of the worl d to see this . The gradu al
l oss of physi cal heal th m oral rect i tud e artis tic pre
, ,

e minence and politi ca l supremacy have al most

always been C O- incident . The d egen er ati on of
muscul ar pe rfection an d nervous s t ren gt h went on

side by side wi th t he fal l Of lofty ideals and the

d ecadence of art l eaving behin d them inertness
, ,

sel f indul gen ce and a tas te for sens uality — ruin

-
, , ,

moral ,
m ental ,
and physical ,
being the nat ura l
“
resul t . Paint the soul never mind the l egs an d
,

”
arms , one se ction of the worl d see ms to say . They
deny strenuously that unison of the du al person
al ity of the human be in g (parti cul arly fem inin e
“
human be ings ) an d expl ain to us that body
,

’ ”
not soul but j ust soul s servant
, . Then there is ,

on the contrary another section wh o assert quite

, ,

as hotly and qui te as strenuously the sen ti men t

, ,

expressed so forcibly by the same poet in anoth er

of his works S oul —accept a word which
vaguely means
8 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE

W h at
No adep t in word use fits a
-
nd fi xes .

To this class of thinkers I am tempted to reply

“
i n the words of a prose poet : The pebble stone ~

(in my pal m ) tells m e that I am a soul because I

am n ot that that touches the nerves Of my hand
, .

B ut is not the j ust m ean to be found between these

t wo Opinions P U ntil we have freed the body from
weakness and weariness can we ever expect the ,

soul to drink in the spirit of the earth and sea ,

t he

s o ul of the sun which the same R ichard Je fferies

, ,

that great apostle Of the beautiful S peaks of ? ,

I am
“
beginning to feel as he felt . There is so much
to unlearn in l i fe . I t wastes so m uch time to take
Off peel after peel and s o get by degrees S lowly
,

”
towards the truth .

“
The health and well being -
of a nation l ies al

”
together in the hands of its women , is the stock
phrase of many nineteenth century A dams -
. This
is a great truth but scarcely a wfzol e truth
, ,
for are
not the men of a nation the fathers of their
d aug /z l ers as well as the fathers Of their sons ?
D oes not N ature besto w inh erited tendencies upon
the girl child as oft en as upon the boy child
- -
P We
 ON B EAU T Y AS A S CI E N C E 9

cannot gather grapes from thorns n or fi gs from

thistl es .

N either by flood nor fi eld by fo rest or fe ll by , ,

mountain or val ley by t o wn ,

or vill age in m an or
,

bird , or beast or fruit or flower d o we eve r fi nd

, , ,

i m perfection bringing forth perfecti on . V ice begets

d isease and pes si mism who , , in their turn bec o me
,

the parents of other vic es and ,

SO the ba l l roll s on
for ever further and furt h er away from that noble
,

stand ard of h eal th fiil bea uty the science, Of w hich

lurks behind those words penn ed years ago by our , ,

late laureate . I t is only a so u nd m ind in a so und

body that has power to d eve l op am ongst us :

The l ove of love . the hat e of hate , the sco rn o f scorn .

 C H APTE R II .

O N TH E S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L B EAU T Y .

i pl
I f you get s m e beau ty an d aught el se
n ,

t
You get abou the b es t thi g G od i
n ts n v en .
!

Robert B rown in g .

Hol d i high p oeti d ty

n c u

T uest truth the fair t b

r es eau ty ”
—E l
.

B arrett B rown in g
°

z z abet}
z .

TH E culture of beauty in the abstract is a great

aim and the culture Of personal beauty is a duty
,

that we owe not only to ourselves but also to our

neighbours . We have no right to inflict anything

that transgresses against the canons Of beauty
upon those ar o und u s, for the intrinsic value of

beauty natural or personal lies in the pleasure it

, ,

produces to the world in general . Most Of us love

beauty of some k ind yearning for it instinctively
, ,

and Often even unconsciously .

I O
 O N TH E S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L B EA U TY . I I

Physical bea u ty seems to have been al m ost

un iversal in an ci en t Greece where such great
,

attention was paid to physi ca l cul ture

. It
meant so m u ch to them tha t a Greek mother
always prayed the god s to bes tow physi ca l per
fect ion upon her ch il dren w hatever els e m ight be
denied t hem . B eautiful s ta t u w and sweet flowers
always d ecorated t he roo ms of a Greek wife so ,

that sh e might live in an atm osphere of beau ty ,

the infl uen ce of which would be fel t by her unborn

C hil d . I nd eed it was a religious d uty in those
,

days to foster beau ty for the popul ar phrase

,

x a kO Kai a a abv— Sl n lfi es that t he g o od and th e

‘

y y g
beau ti ful were em bod ied in one and the s ame idea .

' '

N ot the m ost refined and sp zn tuell e am on gst us

can get away from our bod i es or d o wi thout them , .

”
They may be only the envelope of the soul ,
but
is t hat any reason why we should perm it that
en velope to be of in ferior qu al i ty ? I s i t not on ,

the con trary the most potent reason why we

,

shoul d perfect it as mu ch as lies in our power ,

externall y and internally t oo

What is beau ty ? I hear someone ex claim .

T h is is a diflicu l t ques tio n to answe r . I t i s such

I2 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

a comprehensive term -
; it means so much ,
or—s o
’
l ittle . O ne woman s face and figure may be
fashioned according to all the canons of beauty ,

and yet she may n ot be beautiful ; whilst another ,

whose features are positively plain may yet be ,

enveloped constantly in an atmosphere of

”
beauty ,
emanating from no visible source . S ome
people will tell y ou that beauty like m orality is , ,

al l a mere question o f geography ; and , to a certain

“
extent this Opinion holds good I n the D escent
, .

“
Of Man D arwin tells us : B eauty seems to some
people a very pronounced form Of whatever type
Of feature or hue we are m ost accustomed to ; i n
S hort the exaggeration
, of characteristic pecul i
arit ies The inhabitants of C ochin C hina -
co n
~

sider us frankly hideous with our front teeth

“ ’ ”
unextracted and white like a d og s , our un

“
slit lips and ,
ou r rosy c o lour like that of potato
“ ”
flowers . I n the northern parts Of the C hinese
“
empire the ideal Of every woman is to possess a
flat face high cheek bones a very broad nose
,
-
, ,

’
“
and enormous ears . H earne who l ived a long
,

“
ti me amongst the A merican I ndians tells us : A sk ,

a N orthern I ndian what is beauty and he will ,

 ON TH E SC I E N CE O F P ER SO N A L B EA U T Y . I 3

answer— a broad flat face sm al l eyes high C heek , ,

bones ,
a low forehead a l arge broad chin a , ,

C lumsy hook nose a tawny hide and breasts , ,

!
han gin g down to the belt . The S iamese ,
on

“
the contrary ad mire ,
s mal l noses w ith d ivergen t
“
nostrils big mouths with th ick l ips high broad
, , ,

”
C heek bones
-
,
and what we m ay perhaps call a
”
generally m oon faced styl e -
. M aking due allow
'

ance however for

, , d ifleren ce of tas te am ongst the
,

ci vilised nations of the world th e highest ideal,

of physi cal beauty broadly spea king may how

, , ,

ever be said to l ie i n a combination

,
Of d ue
propo rtion , sym metry ,
colour , and expressio n .

“
Want of beau ty always handi caps a woman ,

whatever h er vocation i n li fe may be therefore ,

it is a m is ta ke to l ook upon the possession of

“
it as a snare and a delusion The more we
cultivate th e graces of the person as well as th e ,

graces Of the m ind the more l ikel ihood there is Of

,

our getting what we d es ire in l ife and —k eeping it ,

t oo . K nowledge is po wer undoubtedly ; but know

l edge al one is a very one sided sort of power
-
. If
we are to be al l powerful we must combine per
-
,

sonal att racti veness w ith cul tu re O f m ind and

 4 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE .

largeness of soul ; consequently it behoves , us to

go in j ust as strongly fo r physical culture as fo r
mental and ze s t het ic devel opment . We cannot all
“ ”
be beauties but we can all possess beauty in some
,

Of its fo rms . B eauty means so m any things and ,

there are so many adventitious aids to it that no ,

woman l iving need be defi cient i f she has even a ,

s mal l modicu m Of com monsense . I should l ike

to see a period of u niversal beauty reigning
supreme throughout the world and this is why ,

’
it seems to me to be every woman s bounden duty
to d o al l she can individ ually to smooth over and
, ,

erad icate as far as possible her o wn natural

de ficiencies and procure
,
for hersel f by ord inary
,

care a proportion
,
of that inestimable quality ,

which has been struggled for and d ied for

from time immemorial and wil l go ,
on being
struggl ed for and died for to the end of time .

A man who is held to be an authority on the

subject Of feminine beauty writes i n a recent ,

“
nu mber Of a magazine : I n feminine C harm more ,

than in anything else perhaps we m ust not raise ,

the question Of taste and —H eaven defend that

,

writer who would dare to say that any on e woman

 ON T H E S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L BEAU T Y . I S

was the most beauti ful o f her S isters , or who would

d a re to att empt to an alyse or d efend h is position
i n com paring these beauties . Thi s is exactly
what I contend . There are SO many phases of

beauty that i t is useless tryin g to enu mer ate or

descri be wherein exactly beauty lies

!
Tis n ot a li p o r eye we beau ty call
, , ,

B ut th e j oin t force an d ful l resu l t of all .

I f we an alyse very C l o sel y, h o wev er we s h al l find

,

’
th at a woman s greatest attraction l i es i n he r
femininity . Far above sym metry of fo r m or the
most perfect features m ust cert ainly be placed
that wonderful and mysterious psycho physical -

qu ality O f person al m agnetism which for lack , ,

of a
bett er d efini tion we will d esign ate as soul beau ty
,
-
.

This atmosphere of fascination O ften emanates

from w o men who are total ly devoid of exterio r
attractions still the possession o f this quali ty al one
,

renders them SO intangibly beautiful that they are

wel l nigh i rresistible
-
. I t is th is s ort of woman
who enthralls every man who fal ls under her spell .

Y ou may seek in vai n to po rt ray her charm . The

beauty is indescribabl e but it is neverth eles s
, t/zere

in i ts most potent form .

 16 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE .

A nd this is j ust the species Of beauty that every

woman may possess and retain to the last day of
her life— zf s/ze e/zooses because it is the outcome
‘
'

of a perfect nervous organisation . O nly a fool ish

woman will consent to alter the col our of her hair
and smother her del icate skin in powder and paint .

“ “
I t is better to be a naked truth than an artful
”
l ie , more especially i f we are striving to be women
instead of d olls or slaves . B esides , it is neither
necessary n or artistic . There is absolutely no
reason why we should go down to ou r g r aves ,

“ ”
sans teeth sans eyes sans taste sans everything
, , , ,

with wrin k led brow bald pate and rheu my eyes

, ,

”
of age peaked
, C hin and parchment chap ,
pro
vid in g that we will only pay attention to o ur o wn
physical condition . A sound m ind i n a sound
body is the great secret o f perpetua l youth .

There is nothing that robs us o f o u r youthfulness

l ike ill health and there is no species Of ill health
-
,
-

that turns ou r hair grey or ploughs deeper furrows

in ou r brows than that tragic l ist of functional
d erangements and nervous ail ments set down in
medical text books under the comprehensive head
-

’
ing of : Women s D is eases .
 O N T H E S CI E N CE O F P ER S O N A L B E A U TY . I7

S evere moralists tell us that beauty is only

S kin deep
-
but— is this real ly S O ? Personally I
, ,

am strongly tempted to d oubt the veracity of

thi s hoary aphorism both from the physiological

,

and th e ethi cal poi nts of V iew .

Think for a moment what has been the e ffect

Of fe minine beauty on the history of the world ,

i ts importance in everyday l ife and i ts all essential ,

-

value in the real ms O f art ! N O no ; beauty i s not

,

“ ”
only s kin deep -
,
al though there is undoubtedly
much beauty in a be au tiful skin ; and fortunately ,

for us the skin is j ust

, on e o f those porti ons of the
human bod y that we can do much to beautify
by j ud icious treatment . A bundan t vi tal ity and
warmth of blood will i mpart a richn ess of colour
“ ”
ing and a fi neness of texture that n o make -
up,

however artistic can emulate , . N ot that I resen t

make -
up from puritani cal prej ud ices . O n the
contrary I consider that vanity
, Is a virtu e every
wom an o ught to cultivate— u p to a cert ai n point .

I t is our duty to make the best of ourselves

physical ly as well as mentally and morally ; but ,

“ ”
the most skil ful make u is only e ff ective at a
p
-

distance , or under a veil . I t is n ot only bad taste ,

B
18 BEAU T Y C UL T U RE .

but it defeats its o wn obj ect by being u n beau t i

ful .

General attractiveness is far more desirable i n

a w o man fo r ordinary everyday purposes than
supreme beauty ; moreover this God given gift is ,
-

so rarely bestowed upon an y o f us that we d o n ot

need to write for those favoured few ; but even

the beauty of the most classic features is enhanced
by vivacity of movement and expression . A
marble statue is often superb i n its every line but ,

marble does not satisfy the nea rt of any man .

What we need to regenerate the hu man race is a

, ,

vast army o f flesh and blood women possessing

perfect heal th of body and mind . Women large ,

hearted and whole souled -

, of fascinating person
ality and strong individualities women who are
will in g an d able to take upon themselves the
‘

resp o nsibil ities of motherhood and people the

,

worl d anew with sons and daughters buoyantly

“
youthful from their birth instead ,
of the muling ,

puking infants of to day dowered with the

-
,

“ ”
heritage of born tiredness
-
, who struggle up to
maturity and fl ood the world with morbidness .

How many a on e is doomed to suicide , a

 ON TH E S C I E N CE O F P ER SO N A L B EAU T Y . 19

’ ’
drun kard s grave or a convi ct s ce ll
,
h om'
the
momen t of con ception ! I s t his co m mon j usti ce ?
H as anybody the rig/I t to peo ple the world with
m aniacs and murderers dr u n kards and drivell ers , ,

convicts an d courtes ans p ill agers and pessim is ts

,

I cannot t hin k so . We are for ever m vil l in g at

“ ” “
the inj usti ce of the A l mighty ,
at the cyni cis m
” ’ ”
Of the higher powers , at life s l i ttle ironi es , but
d o we ever rea lise that hum anit y itsel f is the
pri me factor in the matter ? I t is our forefathers
who have been unj ust to us in pas t generations ,

and it is we who a re bein g u n j us t to o ur o wn

chil dren in this gen er ation . I firmly be l ieve that
th e time is not far dis tant wh en our pris ons will be
turned into hospital s . A tim e when crime wil l be
treat ed as a d isease and d iseas e wil l be accounted
,

a crime ; a n g t o b e asham ed
th i of beea us e it is
'

p reven t zble and beca use it is tran sgres sin g every

,

principle of the science Of pe rsonal beauty .

N ot l ong ago a well k nown soc ialist l ead er is

‘
re

ported to have said in one of her speech es : It te

qu ires at leas t t hree gen erations of sel fish women

”
to put the world right . A t first sight that
”
szli
d e; if
“
so unds very ad v an ced and fi n -
de -
but
20 B E A U T Y C U LT U RE .

you take the wo rd sel fish in its l iteral sense ,

attention to sel f there is a good deal

, of sound
sense i n the remark . The maj ority o f o ur sex
neglect physical culture entirely . B ecause they
know nothing of their o wn physiology, they are
totally unabl e to comprehend i ts importance .

They do n ot understand that the surest method of

beautifying themselves is to develope each organ ,

and thus bring it into the best possible state for

performing its part in the intricate mechanism Of
the human body by feeding it properly and
,

regul arly with the right sort Of food in the right

quantities . I t is useless trying to feed o ur lungs
on carbon ,
o r o ur brains on nitrogen ,
o r our muscles
on phosphorus . I f we do n ot l ive in wel l aired -

rooms and sleep in properly ventilated bed

chambers we are partial ly starving the lungs and
weakening the heart by depriving them of oxyg en ,

the o nly food they can thrive upon ,

and ou r

complexions will give the fi rst indication of this

condition of sem i starvation
-
. A brisk co n s titu ~

t io n al
daily or a moderate S pin o n a bicycle
, ,

will d o m ore for most complexions than any

Co smetic or facial massage can p ossib1y ~
effect.
_
 ON T HE S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L BEAU TY . 21

The danger l ies in overdoin g these things . E ach

d i ff erent set of m uscles requires exercise but you ,

should always be careful to measure th e amount of

your exercise by t he meed of your muscul ar

power s ince you cannot force either your brai n
, or

you r muscles to work beyond their strength for

any length of time without inj u rious effects to the
whole system nor yet wi thout detracting from your
,

o wn personal beauty . The m ore fresh ai r we are

able to breathe the les s likely we are to su ffer from
,

an e mia dyspepsia
, , or hysteria th ree o f the greatest
,

foes to health and beauty ; though al l o f them m ay

be con sidered ej ects rather than causes for they ,

are general ly d ue to an i mpaired circul ation either ,

of the bl ood or of th e n ervous cu rrent induced by ,

vari ous causes .

There is a right way an d a wrong way t o d o

everything and many people ruin their own beauty
,

by failing to re al ise this fact . There i s a right

way to wal k and a wrong way to wal k ; a right
way to stan d and a wrong way to stand ; a right
way to t and a wr ong way to sit ; a right way to
Si

eat and a wrong way to eat ; a right way to

breathe and a wrong way to breathe Now m any .
,
22 B EA U T Y CU LT U RE .

women and girls su ffe r from an aemia simply be

cause they d o not know how to breathe . They

are merely the victim s Of deficient breathing .

I nstead of throwing bac k their shoulders they

droop them which causes the
,
C hest to fall in and
prevents the proper expansion Of the lungs . Then
the l ower lobes degenerate because they are n ever
used the blood does
,
n ot get its normal supply
of oxygen , the action Of the heart becomes
weakened and the nervous system loses ton e in
,

consequence . The uterine organs being kept i n

a state Of semi starvation su ffer too
-
, . S ometimes
deficient breathing is due to tight corsets ; but ,

w
hat neither d octors nor d ivines have been able
to accompl ish cycl ing has done — it has put tight
,

lacing ou t o ff aslzz on . The age o f pinched

in waists -

is o v er ! P r operly made corsets that cl asp but

-
,

d o not coerce the figure cannot be considered

,

harm ful and there is certainly neither health nor

,

“
beauty in flopp in ess of figu re or attire . B ut if
even the most favoured amongst us desire to be
real ly beautiful we must not omit to feed
, ou r

“ ”
nervous system adequately . N erves are such
terribly dest r uctive articles . C omplexion ,
hair ,
 ON TH E S C I E N C E O F P ER S O N A L B EAU T Y . 23

figu re am iability and every other fem inine charm

, ,

soo n feel their ravages . Whatever we may d o, or

not do let us always take goo d care o f o ur nerves
,

they are far too precious to be trifled wi th I can

,

“ ”
as sure you . Moreover they are s o , uppish
always s triving for the m as tery over us . You

must m aster t fiem, o r they wil l m as ter y ou , and

then—good bye to beau ty
-
.

’
H eal thy restful slu mber is one of N atu re s
greatest beautifiers . N erves and brain must
have their due rest . Tired lines an d weary
shadows m ar the m ost l ovely face .

I t is an excellent pl an to devote ten or

fi ft een minutes daily to physical exercises . Five
’“ ” ’
minutes breath ing d rill -
, followed by ten minutes
arm and l eg gymn asti cs do wonders for health ,

and beauty .

B reathing -
d rill should be made part Of every
’
child s education . I t is quite Si mple . S tand up

right with the ar m s bent the hands cl enched and , ,

the S houlders thrown wel l back ; then Open the l ips ,

take a deep breath so as to expand the lungs fully

,

to the ir extremities and hold you r breath in th at

,

position whilst you mental l y count five ; then

24 B EA U T Y C U LT U RE .

C lose your l ips and allow it to escape

, g ra d u al ly
through the n ostrils . R epeat this as long as you
like and as often as yo u can ; you will fi nd the
girth of your chest will increase considerably in
the course of a few months and the ,
C hances Of
your su ffering from asthma or bronchitis will also
be greatly mini mised . Yo u will g et in to the ha bit Of
breathing properly by degrees and your general ,

health will be improved by this . I t is j ust as easy

to form good habits as bad habits and I quite ,

agree with a well known pl aywright who makes

-

“
on e o f his C haracters say on the stage : B eauty
becomes a habit with a woman after she is thirty .

B ring a girl up to be a beauty and she will be on e .

S ta rt her in the race of li fe with perfect health ,

and in nine cases ou t Of ten she will never find

“
hersel f hand icapped by her womanhood for ,

N ature never intended that our sex S hould hand i

cap any Of us ; and nowadays particularly when ,

circumstances force SO many women married as ,

well as S ingle ,
out into the arena Of the world we ,

need all the health all the strength all the beauty
, , ,

all the puri ty of heart and sanity of mind that it is

anyway possible to obtain . Fail ing these we Sha l l

,
 ON TH E S C I E N CE O F P E R SO N A L B EA U TY . 25

be ign ominiously worsted i n the fray ; po ssessing

these we can
,
C arry al l before us , so that the
desti ny of the worl d for good or ill lies t ruly in
the d impled del icate hands
,
of its womenkind ,

“
whether we are the weaker sex or not . Why
shoul d we take the trouble to qu ibble over a
coupl e of adj ect ives ? A dam was verily pro
n ou n ced the l ord of al l created th ings but we ,

“ ”
ought to bear in m ind that thi s lordshi p was
bestowed u pon hi m oef ore E ve had com e into
being as the last and most perfect specimen
, of th e
’
C reator s handiwork . O f course the story told in
,

the B ook of Genesis may be no thing more th an a

myth ; we are wil l ing to gran t th at i n these days ,

Of biblical research and scientifi c d iscovery ; still ,

every myt h and every l egend in every country and

under every C lim e m ust have s om e grain Of tru th
from which to t ak e i ts birt h . A mongst the prin
c ip al items appert ai ning to personal bea uty are a
pair o f beauti ful eyes . Most of us are able to
do much executio n (conscious and unconscious )
with the eye B u t before going fu rt her let us
.

pause a moment and inqu i re wherein th e beauty

of the eye consis t s . S i z e shape colour positi on
, , , ,
26 BEAU T Y C U LT U RE .

all c o ntribute largely to i ts lovel iness but i f the ,

eye is to be lastingly beauti ful i t must also reflect

an individual soul that is neither narrow li feless , ,

nor apathetic ; it must possess the fran k d irect ,

look that is neither afraid to exhibit the thoughts

and emotions of its o wn soul n or to read and
understand those of others . I t is wonderful how
much we are able to read from the eyes of another ,

and equally wonderful how much we are abl e to

i mpart thro ugh our own eyes without a word being
spoken on either s ide . B u t, although the great
beauty Of the eyes l ies in their expression they ,

nevertheless need a certain amount of practical

hygienic care since they are greatly influenced in
col our brill iancy and expression by the physical
, ,

condition of the rest o f the body .

“
The theory that beauty l ies in the eye Of the
”
beholder has in it happily for most of us a g o od
, ,

deal of truth . We are al l apt to idealise those

whom we love and to feel that they are beautiful
, ,

whether the l ines Of their faces and figures follow

or contradict the cu rves of abstract beauty . Th ere
is however a good deal
, ,
of the Old Puritan pre
“
j udice still extant in E ngland against any woman ,
 ON THE S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L B EAU TY . 27

”
of C haracter t rying to i mprove her l ooks by the
“
aid Of a rt . N ow this is a
, c rying pity ,
even
though the pre R aphaelite school -
Of painters have
taught us the invaluable l esson that ugliness d oes
not exist either in the world
, of a rt , or in the
real ms of nature . They have demonstrated to us ,

also that a plain face may (and Often does) poss ess
,

“ ”
lines where beauty l ingers an d where it l i n gers , ,

too far longer th an i n a pretty face be cause those

, ,

l ines are the visibl e tokens of character rather ,

than the mere fleeting l ovel iness which is al ways , ,

more or l ess dependen t

, on you th and C ircu m
stances .

H arm ony o f motion is one of

the great principles
underlying the science of universal beauty ; but
this harmony can never be acquired by any woman
who d oes not understand how to bal ance her body
properly . By this I do not mean to imply that
,

we should be perpetually posing . Far from it .

The most i m portant lessons for eve ry s tudent in

the art Of graceful ness to l earn are an entire absence ,

Of self consciousness an d a perfect sel f possession

-
,
-
.

one s o wn
’
To be shy or to be always conscious
,
of

’ ’
beauty , or one s own plainness or one s own C lothes
,
28 BEAU TY CU LT U RE .

is the most ungraceful and the most ill bred thing ,

-

in the world .

To preserve the proper balance of the body you ,

must keep your S h o ulders well back your head ,

well u p and tread fi rmly but lightly on the bal l

, , ,

of the foot Grace o f motion and elasticity o f

.

gait and carriage are greatly the resul t o f a

perfect nervous organisation .

The most valuable adventitious aid to beauty , ,

next to good health and a proper hygienic

care of the S k in ,
is d ress and it is ,
on this
point that so m any women fail . S ome fail from
ignoran ce of form and colour ,
others from
ind i fference .

D ress ought to fulfil three purposes . I t ought

to protect conceal and d isplay
, ,
o ur persons ; un

fortunately however it Often deforms

, ,
or c o nceals
o ur best points .

’
I t is every woman s d uty i n my Opi n ion to be , ,

as beautifu l as she can for as long as she can , ,

though s ome people fancy when an Old lady

take s a prid e i n her appearance that she must ,

be a sort of modern Jezebel . Is S he not rather

a woman of taste and tact to d o so ?
 ON TH E S C I E N CE O F P ER SO N A L B EAU TY . 29

Th e M arquise de B l ocq uv ill e, a bea uty a l iterary ,

“
wom an and a g ra n de da me says very truly : The
, , ,

coquetry Of age is a sacred coquetry ; it com

mand s us to tak e more pains wi t h ourselves
n ot to d zlspleas e, than we took in our youth to
pl
S peak ing Of you t h and age it , is a curious fact ,

that n one Of the women who have fas cinated men

most powerfully and in fluenced the destini es of
,

nations were actual ly young

,
. I n fact they were
,

all more or less on the threshol d

, ,
of m iddle age -
.

C leopatra is said to have been nearly fi fty when

S he enthrall ed A ntony ; E m ma L ady H amilton
, ,

was so me yea rs pas t forty when she made N elson ,

“ ”
run mad after her ; D i ane de Po ict iers was
fort y three when she tam ed her royal lover ;
-

Mad am e de M aintenant was fo rty and p l a in -

fiv e ,

but s he ousted a woman who was her j unior by a

l ong way and beautiful to boot
, . I t would be easy
to go on m ul tiplying these examples but i t is ,

s carcely n ecess ary to d o so . The fact pro cl aim s

i tself al oud that a healthy well preserved woman
, ,
-

Of matu re years is l ikely to have a firm er hold on

,

’
a man s heart than a raw girl because years and ,
30 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

experience have developed her physically and ,

mentally . S he understands human nature i n a

“ ”
way th at n o bread and butter m iss could
possibly do . We fi nd also that these wo men all
, ,

possessed two things which go far towards mak ing

anybody irresistibly fascinating ; they had perfect
physical health and that quick bright natural
, , ,

i ntell igence which learns unconscious lessons from

,
-

everything it sees hears reads , , , or feels . They

each had cultivated the i nvaluable qual ities of

observation comprehension and sympathy which

, , , ,

added to courage and a certain amount of self

C ontrol will make any woman plain
, ,
or pretty ,

al most omnipotent . Intuitive perception ,

and
magnetic generalisation give , us the power of

mentally ph o tographing everything that comes

within the range o f our moral mental , , or physical
vision and though we may scarcely be aware
, of

the fact at the time these photographs le ave thei r

,

i mpression upon the brain the m ind and the soul , , ,

thus providing us with stores of knowledge which ,

stand us in good stead at a later peri o d o f o ur lives .

Y ears and years ago long before the era

,
of

l adies ’
C lubs and I bsenism V O rd swo rth probably
,
V
,
 ON TH E S C I E N CE O F P E RS O N A L B EAU T Y .
31

pain ting psychol ogically from the devoted S is ter ,

who did so m uch to m ak e hi m what he was quotes ,

am ongst the many qual i ti es of his perfect

”
woman ,

The m firm th e tem pera te will

Mm
s on . ,

fws ight , sn e n gth

'

an d skifl ,

five q ual ities seldom to be fo u nd in any but the

matured because they can only be d eveloped by
,

“
the disci pline Of l ife . The great thing i n this
world is not so mu ch where we s ta n d as in what ,

”
direction we a re movin g , since we m ust al l
move on .

N ow girls as a rule are so was tefull y prod igal

, , ,

of their youthfulness both of mind and body that

, ,

’
they are Often pas see long before they reach the
m eridi an of l i fe and gi ve up all attempts at per
,

son al attractiveness years before they have any

right to d o so . E very m arri ed woman owes it to
her husband to preserve and fo ster her beauty and
her powers of attraction ; every un marri ed w o m an
owes it to herself and t hose around her to d o the
, ,

sa me .

The great sec ret of keeping fresh and young is

to be C heer ful and always

, to l ook on the bright
32 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

S ide of things . A sense Of humour is a gift to be

grateful for since laughter and light heartedness
,
-

are beauty philtres

-
of the most potent description ,

and they are the natural and spontaneous outcome

of a sound mind i n a sound body . A soul i n
harmony with al l that is true all that i s beautiful
, ,

all that is worth striving for in li fe will necessarily ,

re flect these feelings on the features in radiant

“ ”
lines that are unmistakably lines of beauty ,

whatever the contours Of those features may be .

A ll thoughts al l passi on s all d el i gh ts

, , ,

Wh at ever S ti rs th i s m ortal frame ,

A ll are b u t m i n i t ers o f l ove

s .

A d feed s sacred flam e

n hi ”
,

sang C oleridge . What was an open truth in his

day is still an Open truth even at this end O f a - -

century ; yet how few O f us seem to grasp this

,

fact .S till fewer seem to realise another fact ,

equally pertinent and equally important for o u r

'

own happiness ,
v zz .

L ove s ’
a fire th at n eeds ren e wal
O f fres h b a ty f
e u or its fuel .
!

A charming woman is continually generating

”
fresh beauty in hersel f . Gloom sour looks , ,

discontent peevishness wrinkles

, , , do not generate
 ON TH E S C I E N CE O F P ER S O N A L B EAU T Y .
33

”
beauty . Wrin k les are the result of pouting ,

frowning m aking a martyr ,

of onesel f meeting
,

troubles hal f way -

,
and l ooking on the blackest
“
S ide of things . Those of us who are foolishly
”
opti mistic may meet with d isappointments and
a certain amount of disillusion in li fe because this ,

is n ot an ideal world . I f we have courage ,

however to meet , our troubles d i ffi culties d angers

, , ,

and temptations with , C heerfulness and a brave

faith i n the future things are much more l ikely to,

right themselves and we shal l keep the sunshine,

in o ur eyes and the dimples in our cheeks long ,

long after our gloomy pessi misti c contemporaries

have sunk into miserabl e faded ol d women without ,

a single spark of feminine C harm le ft in them . By

activity of m ind and body hygienic care , of the

skin and a determination to mak e the best
, of l ife
,

we may retain our youthful feelings and ou r

youthful looks to the end of the C hapter . O ne of

the gifts which we can cultivate (and keep with ,

care) is a low sweet voice ; but fretfulness o r discon

tent destroys the S ilvery tone even O f the loveliest
voice . A sweet musical voice generally goes with
a sweet temper a lovable disposition and often
, ,

0
34 B EA U T Y C U LT U RE .

that merry brightness which is a m ost charming

trait i n either sex I t gets on e com fortably over
.

so many rough places ! B u t there i s n o n atural

grac e m o re bewitching than a sweet laugh ; a
laugh that seems to leap straight from the heart
l ike the sound of a rippling fl ute on the water ,
or

a sparkling , rilling streamlet , tumbling on i ts

l iquid way . I t is the spontaneity of a silvery
laugh that seems to have th e power of turning the
prosy prose of l ife into the rhythm of lyric poesy ,

and to fling S howers Of sunlight over the shimmer

ing S hadows of the d arkest wood . I t is indeed a
C harm which every girl ought to cultivate . There
is no great actress but learns to laugh note by ,

note ; why then should n ot girls at school

, , he
taught how t o speak and how to laugh j ust as ,

they are taught how to dance and how to walk ?

TO a m usical car, a harsh d iscordant laugh a ,

cackle ,
or a yel l are equally pain ful whilst , a

delicious S ilve ry rippl e is full of melody .

F ive or six m onths ago I happen ed, to come

across the following epitaphs ; th ey struc k me as
hitting O ff r ather we l l two types of the present
“

d ay ; n ei th er Of which is however my ideal woman

, , .
 O N TH E S C I E N CE OF P ER SO N A L B E A U T Y .
35

Th e on e is too busy and th e oth er is too unhealthy ;

,

and they are both transatlantic as , yo u may easily

see
I .

H ere lies a poor wom an who al ways was tired

S he h ved in a h ouse wh ere h elp was n ot hi red
H er l as t w ord s o n earth w re D ear fri en d s I am goin g e ,

T o wh ere th ere s coo k i n g n or w as hi g n or sewm g ;

’
no , n .

Bu t everythi n g th ere is exact t o my wish es ,

Fo r where they d on t eat there s n o was hi n g u p d ish es

’ ’
, .

I ll be wh ere l ou d an th em s wi ll al way s be rin gi n g

’
,

Bu t hav i n g n o voi ce I ll get q ui t o f the s i n gi n g ;

'

. ,

D on t m ourn fo r me n ow d o t m ourn for m e n ever

’ ’ -
n .

I m go i n g to d o n o t hi n g for ever an d ever

’ ’
. .

II .

Here l i es a poor wom an who al ways was bus y

S h li d
e ve d r p r s r th at
un e d red h r d i y
e su e ren e e zz .

Sh b l g d t t
e e on l bs a d r d Brow i g b y s i ght ;
e o en c u , n ea n n

Sh w d o t l
e h ns a d t
a un c d w oul d
eo t i f h m igh t
n ea s, an vo e s e .

S h ser d
e sch
ve l b d with rag a d l
on a oo -
o ar co u e n z ea

Sh g lf d an d h
e o e k d ak d a d rod
-
s e a wh o l; e n e on ee

Sh ad T l t i
e re d I bse k w m i robes b y m e
o s o an n , ne c na ,

A ppr d f D lsart
ov e o w a Da ghte d D me
e, as u er
’
an a

H r hi l d r w t i f r t h t p d
e c en en ti n o e o e uca on

H r h ba d w t a w rd f r r
e us n en p tra ti
se a o n e vous ros on .

O ned y h r t b l ts h f
a on e d ah r fr
e s e oun an ou ee

Th sh k w t oo great
e oc d sh e d i d i t t l
as , an e n s an ee.
”

A wel l k n o wn authority
- on al l matters co n

n ect ed with physical training says that a woman

“ ”
who wishes t o keep hersel f in conditi o n S hould
S leep fo r nine hours o u t o f the twenty four bathe -
,

in cold water every morn ing exercise five m inutes ,

36 B EA U T Y ’
c UL rURE .

daily with l ight dumb bel l s drin k a

-
, cu p of ho t
liquid before break fast spend, at l east h al f an hou r
every day in outdoor exercise make the best ,
of

bad bargains and never lose her tempe r under any

,

circu mstances whatsoever .

I s it not most excellent advice ? I wonder how

many o f us follow the last clause s wif tly and to
the letter !
 C H A PT E R I I I .

O N TH E AR T O F D RESS AS AN A I D TO B EAU T Y .

C os tl y thy habit as thy purse a buy c n ,

Bu t no t ex press d i f
e ny ; ri h t gaud y
an c c , no

r th apparel ft procla ims the man ”

Fo e o .

F in e feathers m k e fi e birds
a n

—Old Ad g
.

a c
.

S OM E of my readers may perhaps d iscl ai m

against dress being an art in any sense of the
word but surely we n eed only cast our eyes around
,

us as we take our wal ks abroad to d iscover that

it is indee d an art and one that seems di fficult
,

to acquire where the great maj ori ty are concerned .

E veryb od y vital ly interested i n the cul ture of

beauty m ust ful ly rec o gnise and appreciate th e

t ruth o f the aphorism left on record by L o rd
“
C hesterfield , v ia ,
N o woman is ugly when she
is dressed . M ar k the words not ,
zed,
cl ot/ but
d ressed . Ther e is a wide di fference betwee n th ese
37
38 BEAU TY C ULT UR E .

t wo words though at fi rst sight they may

,
ap

“
pear to be synonyms . D ressed in its original
meaning signifies d ecora ted; clothed m eans covered .

A savage may be clothed when she dons “

hip
” “
beads or a loin C loth
-
a society woman may
also be merely cl o thed i n yards of silk and velvet ,

or a strong minded female in ulster and bowler

-

hat ; but nei ther of them is d ressed i n L ord

’
C hesterfiel d s sense of the word . To be d ressed
one must understand the art of dressing . I n other
words ,
on e must understand how to decorate the
hu man fo rm d ivine in such a way as to accentu te
a
its beauties and cover up its defects ; therefore the
three chief canons o f th is fe minine art are
I That the cl o thing should harm o nise with but
.
,

n ot c o erce the natural l ines

,
of the body .

2 . That t he colouring of the cl o th ing should be

chosen not only for general harmony in itsel f but ,

also with d ue regard to the hair , eyes and

,

c o mplexion of the wearer .

3 . That the clothing should possess a certain

ind ividuality expressing ,
in d e fin ably the tastes and
character of the wearer .

Many people l ose sight total ly o f the fi rst point ,

 TH E AR T O F DRESS AS AN A I D TO B E AU TY .
39

or we should not see so man y parodies of

style wal kin g the s treets and fi ll ing the dra wing
rooms of o ur homes . There are tal l women
expecting to l ook wel l in clothing t hat woul d be
eminentl y s ui table for their short sisters and ,
rice

f en d. There are fat women adopting fas hions

that were d esign ed for s l im grace fu l girls and , ,

“ ”
scraggy maids try ing to appear beautifu l in

costum es s ui tabl e for full blown matrons o nly

-
.

E rro rs of colour lead often to dis as trous res ul ts

where beauty isWh y shoul d we all
concerned .

ad o pt certain col ours m erely becau se they are

fas hionable and qui te irres pecti ve o f t heir artis tic
,

val ue or their beco m ingn ess ? I s it not bett er to

make F ashion o ur slave ra t her than pe rmit o ur

selves to bec ome the slaves o f F ashion ? To ign ore

fas hion al to ether is nei ther wise nor well bred
g
-

but t o sacrifi ce al l chance o f bea u ty to it is both ,

unwise an d ill bred Let us st udy our o wn

-
.

personal qual i fi ca ti on s fi rs t an d th en m ak e as ,

m any con ces sions t o L a M od e as appea r des irable .

I t is as tonishing what a j udicious m anipulation o f

colour will d o for m ost peopl e . A t oo- bril lian t

complexion may be ton ed down by d res s or a dull ,

40 B EAU T Y CUL T U RE .

“
on e enl ivened . H air and eyes that l oo k washed
o ut with on e colou r may be made to look daintily
delicate by adopting another and s o ,
on . F or
instance a brilliant blue will make golden
, hair

l ook sandy ; but that beautiful dull cobwebby blue , ,

will b estow upon sandy hai r a glint o f gold . B right

“ ”
brown will k ill the auburn tones of chestnut hair ,

but a dark green will bring them o u t to perfection .

A n an aemi c complexion will l ook still more

an aemic in conjunction with neutral tints ; but a rich

deep red will put a touch of colour into the flesh
tones . Pink has such a variety o f tints that it may
be worn by most people i f they choose the ,

particular tone for their o wn special colouring ; but

a pink that means loveliness to on e woman often
makes another who may strongly resemble her
, ,

“ ”
loo k d irty .

Grey is a co l our that is very trying to a pal e

complexion but it may be worn advantageously
,

both by blondes and brunettes with rosy cheeks ,

and well -
d efin ed eyebrows ; it also combines
beauti fully with pink green yellow m auve and , , , ,

some shades of red . C erise is a very good tone o f

red for th e maj ority of people and r uby
, , to o . In
 TH E AR T O F D RESS AS AN A ID TO B EAU T Y .
4I

fact a great variety

, of red tones can be worn ,

p articularly in winter ; b u t red must be eschewed

by women who have very florid complexions o r
”
carroty hai r ; and m agen ta sh ould never be
adopted by anyone who values beauty because ,

its crue l purpl e tones are ru inous to every sort of

,

complexion . White and cream suit a good many ,

but there are a few who l ook o l d, haggard and ,

gh astly in i t .

Y ellow, i n som e o n e or more of i ts m any tones ,

may be worn by everybod y . A bri lliant brunette

l o oks char ming i n greenish yellows ; a fresh
check ed debu ta n te equal ly wel l in lemon pri m
'
or

r o se ; but brownish yell ows only should be d onned

by m atrons of m ature years and pale blondes
,

l ook their ve ry best in d a ffod il buttercu p d ande , ,

li on and other golden yellows

, . I ndeed my ,
oh

se rvation has led me to bel ieve that anyone

possessing a nose that tu rn s u p— be i t ever so
sl ightly—rej oices instinctively i n every shade of
golden yellow from broo m and gorse d o wn to the
,

humbl e l ittle colts foo t . A s t rologers woul d p ro

bably tel l us that i t is the tou ch of the sun i n their
tempe rament that accounts for this . The art
42 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

reason why yellow proves so universally becoming

is to be found i n the fact that i t i ntensifies all
the flesh tones and ,
e nhances the brill iancy of

other col ours j ust as the sun d oes i n N ature

,
. To
convince ourselves of the value of yell ow from the
beauty point of V iew we need only strol l through
,

the N ational Gal lery or any other collection of

,

O ld Masters and n otice ho w fond most

,
of them
were of getting it into their pictures and portraits .

S ometi mes i t appears in the form of curtains or

d raperies at other ti mes gowns cloaks caps rugs , , , ,

cushions ; but it i s constantly there . S ometi m e s

it is pure amber deep orange shim mering g o ld
, , ,

or a l ovely tawny shade at other times it is shot

with pink green purple blue grey
, , , , ,
or silver .

V andyke R ubens Paul V eronese and the whole

, , ,

l ot of them all loved it and used it perpetually

, ,

because they knew its value . M oreover sunl ight ,

is yellow and the s un is the great vitaliser o f every

,

thing being hi msel f the source

, of all colour . B u t,

i n using yellow we must always be cautious

,

about the colours we blend with it . We m ust n ot

m i x a brilliant shade of yellow with a vivid
shade of red bl ue pink
, , ,
or green , or we shall pro
 THE ART o r D R ESS AS AN Al l ) To B EAU TY .
43

duce an e ff ect so crude as to tran sgres s the

very first princip l es of the science of beauty by
setting the teeth o f ou r more artistic n eighbours
on edge . There is no thing c rude n othing vulgar ,
.

no t hing inarti stic i n the natural worl d . The sky

is blue and th e grass is green and the sunlight i s
yel low yet these tones are
, all brought into har
m ony by the softening e ffects of the at mosphere
but i n d ress we have few of these at mospheri c
e ff ects to d epend u pon therefore we m ust blend
,

our colou rs to sui t the glare of the gas the lam ps

, ,

and th e el ectri c l ight of our dwel lings . In our

m u rky cli me w e cannot venture to d on the s am e

glowing tints with which a S pan ish gipsy or an
I talian peas ant del ights o ur eye because
,
o ur cold er
sk ies would render the e ffect gaudy . In d ressing
ourselves i t would perhaps be j ust as well to bea r
in m ind th e fo l lowing general rules wi th regard to
the e ff ect o n the complexion o f the various colou rs :
B l ack deadens a d ull skin .

B rig/rt bl ues cast a yellowish l ight on the sk in .

G ras sy g reen s give it a l ivid hue .

Dead w/zite throws a brown ish ti nge on it .

0 7225 a nd s ton e col ou r give it a l eaden hue .

44 BEAU T Y CU L T URE .

S ome reds throw a greenish l ight

Mm
.

a /es give an orange shade to a pal e s k in .

B lack suits a good many people but those who ,

are not in the fi rst flush of youth should be

careful to rel ieve it with some colour near the
face . I ts hardening effect may also be obviated
by bringing into pl ay the softening influen ce of

white or cream lace . D ar k people with c ol our

may wea r al most any shade of grey fawn , ,
or green ,

but they must beware of browns . H el iotrope and

pansy are becoming only to a few . S ome shades
of green are eminently advantageous to fair
people . They bring out the delicate flesh tones
and show U p the golden tints in the hai r . In
regard to style a ,
fe w general rules ought to be
borne i n m ind . Fo r i nstance straight
, p erp en

d icu l ar l ines increase the apparent height whilst ,

l ines that run horizontally give the effect of de

creasing the stature ; there fore short stout people , ,

should give the preference to straight long l ines , ,

and v er
y tal l people should j ust as carefully avoid
em o
'

these . Full -
blown matrons inclined to on p oz n t

should k eep to broad sweeping l ines that give an

ease fu l dignity and no woman b ig
, , or l itt l e ta ll
, or
 TH E AR T O F DRESS AS AN A I D TO B EAU TY .
45

short fat , or thin shoul d ever wear anything

,

“
sk i mpy .

Women who are n aturally al l angles n eed to

round them o ff by plenty of material ; and those
whose proporti ons err i n the other d irection cannot
afford to wear anyth ing that tends to contract the
fi gu re . H ere , t oo, let me emphasise an other po int .

H ave you r clothes well cut and well made - -

. H o me
d ressmaking is frequently a snare and a delusion .

On e good wel l ,
-
fitt in g gown is worth more than
hal f a dozen
- -
of those flO p py fli msy gar ments which
, ,

are neither beau ti ful n or economical .

With re ard to ind ivid ual ity i n d ress I shall

g ,

merely say a few words . I t is perhaps m ore the

way in which a th ing i s put on and worn that gives,

th is s ou p on o f elegance and i ndividual charm than

g ,

any actual deviation from , or addition to the ,

general fashions in vogue . I ndeed this qual ity is

,

often qu ite in d efin abl e . Y ou k now it is there but ,

you can not grasp it ,

or classi fy it , or ti cket it .

You cannot expl ai n either what it is or how it got ,

there ; but i f you have got it in yo u naturally it will

, ,

al ways show itse l f . I t is something that is d is

t in ct iv e, and some thin g that is n ot paid for in any
46 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

of your bills either to m ill iner d ressmaker

, , , or
”
florist ; and this aroma of soul in your costu me
will invariably carry with i t its o wn pecul iar
fascinati o n . French , A ustrian and H ungarian
women possess it in a high degree ; E ngl ish women
are somewhat wanting i n it but there is no reas o n ,

why we should not educate ourselves up to it s o

,

far as I can see .

We ought al l to wear ou r c l othes as though they

we re a part of ourselves . A woman who is con
scious of her d ress will never be more than a
transitory success because her attention being
,

always d ivided her persona l ity must necessarily

,

lose hal f its power .

French -
women accentuate their individual ity by
using on e special perfume invariably , or wearing
on especial flower (like the D uchess of Portland
and her M al maison carnations ) This is in itsel f a .

touch of distinctiveness , of course ; nevertheless ,

this is n ot exactly what I mean . I t is in fact a

, ,

l ittle di fficult to explain even i n this age , of

“
individual ism . The maj ority of my readers
wil l however understand I fancy without further
, , , ,

explanation . L et us desig n ate it the art by which

 TH E AR T O F DRESS AS AN A I D TO B E AU TY .
47

bers eg
f
'

a cul tivat ed woman puts a touch of into

every t hing she wear s and everyth ing she d oes .

In o ur c o i ff ures as i n
,
o ur costu mes we should
,

always bear i n mind the pri nciples of pr o portion .

B eauti ful hair is a strong point even in the ,

plai nest featured w o man ; but in order to make its

-

val ue fully felt i t m us t be arranged to suit the

shape of the head and face as wel l as to correct
,

or complete the gene ral conto u rs of the whol e

pers on .

S hort women must take care not to make their

heads l ook t oo wide ; tal l women , or th ose with
l ong n arrow faces shoul d not dress i t
, , t oo high on

the top of the head an d nobod y o ught to wear i t

,

t oo low on the nape of the n eck . Those who are

l ucky enough to have been endowed by natu re
with a C l as s ic Greek brow shoul d not s poil i ts
beauty by tu mbl ing t hei r hair over it li ke that of a
pood le puppy ; whilst those ,
on the contrary who ,

“
possess high intell e ctual foreheads o ught n o t. to
roll th e hai r back ,
or d rag i t s m oo thly away fro m
the templ es . They wil l fi nd a few waves or som e
tiny cu rls more than valuabl e from the beau ty
point of view o n accou n t o f t heir so ffen in g e ffect
‘

,
48 B EAU T YC U L T UR E .

and , p ers on all y, I fail to see why the most strait

laced and puritanical o f people should consider i t
frivolous to curl the hair S urely there is nothing
.

sinful or i m moral in the process !

If y u
o d o not possess enough of your own hair
fo r decorative purposes supplement i t by al l
,

means ; but be v er
y careful that the borrowed
tresses match your o wn both i n colou r and
’
texture . I t is a terrible shock to one s sense of

the beauty and fitness of things to see a woman

going about with a kind of pie bal l e ff ect in her
-

coi ff ure . The more si mply and naturally it is

dressed the more beautiful i t looks as a rule . I t is
wonderful how many defects in the shape of the
head and features may be modified by a really
becoming arrangement of the hair .

B ut this is scarcely a new idea after all though ,

it i s evidently one that has l ost i ts hold upon the

feminine mind judging from the large number
, of

unbecoming coi ff u res we see around u s, and also

by the want of originality shown in the fact that i f
“
any one particular style is fashionable the great ,

majority adopt it irrespective o f age o r suitability

, .

Many many l ong years ago O vid wrote i n

, , on e
 TH E A RT o r D RESS AS AN an ) T O B E AU T Y
.
49

of his admirable works : E veryone shoul d con

sul t his her m irror an d choos e the styl e o f

or ,

ha d d res s that suits th eir physi o gnomy bes t

-
.

“
A l ong face d emands a partin g an d a c o iff ure
that is not t oo high on the top of the hea d ;
’
thus was L aod amia s bea u tiful hair dres sed .

knot on th e crown of the h ea d so ,

as to show
“
the e a rs . I t sui ts oth ers bes t to let the hair
hang down ove r th e shoul d ers l ike , yo u do ,

A po l lo when you ta k e your mel od ious lyre in

,

hand ; others again , ,

should oo i
l them at the
back of the head , in the same fas hion as D i ana .

'

I t suits so m e to have thei r ha ir flufi y an d

wavy ; oth ers l ook bes t with it s moo th and
severe loo kin g
-
. S om e will fin d i t becom ing to
wea r it twis ted , l ike the tortoise out of whi ch
Mercury made a lyre l ong ago ; whil st others ,

in ord er to render themsel ves more beautiful ,

must curl it and form it in tendril s

, an d wave
“
all over their heads “ve cann ot
i

lets . all wear

our ha ir in the same sty l e bec ause , o ur fi gures
and the contou rs of o ur hea ds and fea tures
”
are d ivers e
so BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

O vid does not say anything about the colour

of the hair in his very wise and practical advice to
his friends but nothing i s more rid iculous to my
,

mind than the woman who dyes her locks accord

ing to the prevailing Not that it is im
mode .
”

moral o r wicked to dye the hair be it understood ; ,

i t is all decorative art in its way ; but hair that is

,

frequently changing its hue is the sort of thi n g

to bring ridicule upon it and there is absol utely
,

nothing to be gained by making a laughing stock -

of onesel f under any circu mstances A nother .

great point to be considered in speaking o f the

art of dress is attention to detail . The e ffect of a
charming hat and a becoming coi ffure may be
ruined by a veil that is carelessly put on , and the
l oveliest costume may be marred by a pair of

badly -
fit tin g or soiled gloves . S uitability in d ress ,

too goes for a great deal

,
. F ancy shoes vulgarise
a tailor made coat and skirt whilst thick foot gear
-
,
-

“ ”
stamp the wearer o f an elegant afternoon toilette .

N ice gloves nice ,

S hoes dainty hand kerchiefs
, ,

and unimpeachable sk irts are ,

S igns not only
, of

”
good form ,
but also of good taste and refin e

ment of character .
 C H A PT E R I V .

O N A GOO D C I RCULA TIO N AS A S O URCE OF

B EA U TY .

H ow heart m ov es brain , an d how bo th move han d ,

W hat m ort al ever i

n en tir ty saw?
e

A N unimpaired circulation is abso l utely neces sary

to perfect heal th . I f the flow of bl ood to and
from the heart is i mped ed i n any way we are ,

overfeed ing s o me organs and starving others ; but

before you will be able to ful ly understand leow
'

this is the case you must l et me tell

, y ou how the
circulation of the blood is really carri ed on . A
sto ry is told of a trained nurse who answered the
question i n her examinati on paper : D escribe th e
“
circulation of the blood ,
by saying : I t goes
”
d own on e l eg and up the other Well that is
,

not exactl y the cas e al though the b l ood ought

,

51
52 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

certainly to make the whole circuit of the body in

about thirty two seconds
-
. But before explaining
the circulation of the b l ood ,
let me say a few
words about the blood itsel f and i ts formation ,

from the fo o d we eat . The seven constituents of

normally healthy bl ood are

I . H ydrogen .

2 . O xygen .

3 . N itrogen .

4 C arb o n .

5 Phosphorus
. .

6 M inerals (such as iron )

. .

7 A lkal ies (such as salts l ime soda

.
, , ,

No w yo u will o f course easily see that i f we are

, ,

to keep ourselves in perfect health we must take ,

care that the blood is kept regularly supplied with

all these elements in their due proportions A .

lack o f iron in the system means pallid cheeks and

faded hair ; too m uch o f it would ind uce in
digestion and probably mean a red nose T oo
, .

little nitrogen means a deficien cy o f muscula r

powe r ; too m uc h c onduces to coarsen es s and
,
.
. -
 C I RCU LA TIO N AS A S O U RCE O F B EAU TY .
53

“
greasiness of sk in . The bl o od i s the l i fe , un

doubt edly if it be lzeal t/z but i t may al so be the

,

death i f it be wanting in some elements and over

,

loaded with others . The next thing to consider is

the method of bl ood form ation .

The stomach is a l arg e m uscu l a r pouch thirteen ,

inches l ong and five inches d eep

,
. I t holds n or

mally about five pin ts and i s situated below the ,

heart somewhat to the l eft side

,
. The foo d we eat ,

after being p artly prep ared by mastication and

s al ivation w hil e i n the m outh passes d o wn the ,

gullet into the stomach and i ts entrance there ,

sti m ulates the nervous system causin g the gastri c ,

j uices to exude from the nu mberless l ittl e cells i n

the sides of this organ . They m i x with the food
while it is being chu rned about by a peculiar in
voluntary action of the stomach . The hard woody
,

parts of grains and vegetables th e fibrous parts , of

m eat ,
et C .
,
are al l softened and reduced to a sem i
fluid m ass called C hyme . M il k becomes co

agu l at ed ; and al buminoids are changed int o

peptones thus liberating th e nu tritive prope rties
,
of

th ese foods . They are then soluble an d pass ,

read ily into the bl ood where th ey are brought in ,

54 BEAU T Y CU L T U R E

contact with the various tissues and absorbed ,

or

assimilated into the system . S tarch and cane

sugar are changed into gl ucose or grape sugar .

The fatty el em en ts are emulsified by the j uice of

the pancreas as the food passes into the s mal l

intestine j ust after i t leaves the stomach
, . N ervous
influences (such as grief fear anger) or reflex
, , ,

influences (such as are produced by various

feminine ail ments) will prod uce a change both in
the qual ity and quantity of the gastric ju ice . This
explains why it is that any derangement of the
reproductive o rgans is frequently attended by
dyspepsia and constipation . A bsorption is aecom
p l i
s h ed when the emulsified food called chyle , ,

comes in contact with the villi each ,

of which is
suppl ied with a network of arteries and veins as ,

well as a lymphatic or absorbing vessel . The

veins and the lymphatic vessel s are the chief
means of exit provided for the emulsified food .

A set of small veins convey it into a large on e

called the portal vein which enters the underside
,

of the l iver . The blood passes ou t from the liver

through another large vein and goes from there ,

into the right upper cham b er of the heart . The

 CI RCULA TIO N AS A S O U RC E O F B EAU T Y .
55

heart by the way consis ts

, ,
of t wo stories so to ,

sp eak with two cha mbers on ea ch floor

, . The
upper of which are call ed the right and left a u n
'

el es,
'

whilst the l ower ones are designated the right and

l eft v en tricl es . The chyle is al so absorbed by the
l acteals ; they empty i t into the thoraci c duct ,

which i n its tu rn em pties its contents in to the

, ,

veins at t he n eck . I t is t hen carried with the

bl ood from the upper extremities downwards and ,

poured also into the right auri cl e o f the heart ,

where it m ingles wi th the blood from the lower

e xtremiti es . The heart beats ,
or contracts ,

from sixty to seventy ti mes in a m inute and ,

at each heart beat the bl ood passes from this

-
,

cham ber into the lower o n e, called the right

ventricle . At th e next heart beat
-
it is
pumped out through the big pul mona ry arteries
i nto the l ungs to be pu ri fied i n the air cells there -
,

and then pass es back to the left auricl e through

the med iu m of the pul monary veins ; the next
hea rt beat forces i t onwards into the left ventricl e
-
,

whence it passes into the aorta as the big artery is ,

cal led and i s then carri ed by means of the smal ler

,

arteries to every part of the system . Y ou see ,

56 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

therefore that the body constantly contains two

,

kinds of blood , or rather bl ood in two d ifferent

conditions ; black or venous bl ood which has
become de vital ised and must be carried back to
-
,

the l ungs fo r puri fi cation ; and scarlet or arterial

blood which ought to be perfectly pure and full o f
, ,

l ife giving elements i f we are to be either healthful

-
,

or beautiful . I t has been estimated that there are

to of tiny air vesicles in the
-

lungs of a hu man being having extremely thin ,

wal ls . O n the outside o f these delicate walls there

are numberless tiny hair like blood vessels called - -

capillaries int o whi ch the venous blo o d flows

M
.
,

The act of ea t/t in g o ccurs n o rmally every three

or four seconds and the oxygen taken into the
,

l ungs through the m o uth and n o strils by every

inspiration passes thr o ugh this delicate ,
in terv en
ing membrane int o the venous bl o od fo rcing ,
out

the carbon and thus purifying it ,

. Yo u see ,

therefore that we must inspire oxygen and expire

,

carbon and other i mpurities from the lungs i f we

are to be healthy and since we breathe , ,
on an
average about ,
I 7 times a minute and the heart
,

contr acts from 6 0 to 70 times a minut e there is a ,

 C I RCU LA TIO N AS A S O U RCE O F B EAU T Y .
57

change of bl ood go ing on cons tan tl y throughout

the en tire body . When yo u begin to real ise this
you will ea s ily understand the im po rta n ce not only
to th e bl ood but also to the complexion , the
nervs , and th e genera l well being -
of every woman ,

that thes e cel ls should be kept gen erously S upp l ied

wi th pure oxygen by means , of li ving i n properly
ventil ated roo ms ta kin g plenty of open air
,
-
ex er

cise , etc , since the bl ood can onl y obtain the

n eces sa ry oxygen d uring its pas sage th rough the
l ungs . Pure air is certainl y the greatest m eans of
st rengthenin g and suppo rt in g l ife ; whil e con fined
and corrupted ai r is the m o st subtl e and d eadly
po ison .

B ut besides this general c ircu l ating system ,

there is a secondary one through the liver cal l ed

th e po rtal circulation . A set of s m all veins take
up thebl ood from the intes tines an d a
c rry it into
t he portal vein which takes i t to th e liver
, . Mu ch
o f the nou rishment from the food is still rem aining
i n i t but i t is n ot yet in that fo rm i n whi ch it
, ca n

feed the various parts of the body as they require

to be fed . I n fact th e l iver has to act as a sort
,
of

coarse fil ter . I t is here that t he bile an d sugar are

58 B EAU T Y C U L T U R E .

separated from the blood and the bil e thus stored ,

goes to assist d igestion . When from i mproper

feed ing want ,
of exercise ,
or any other cause the ,

l iver becomes C logged an i nsu ffi cient quantity

, of

”
bile is secreted and ,
l iverishness ,
as wel l as other
unp l easant ail ments is the result ; moreover the
, ,

complexion becomes sal low ,

the temper gets
ruined pessi mism sets in and l ife is certainly
, , n ot

worth l iving for m ost people under these circu m ,

stances . For them the science of beauty is a l ost

“ ”
science and happiness an
,
unknown quantity
that no algebraic calculation in the world will ever
be able to bring ou t . I f we wish to keep the
blood pu re we m ust be su re that the l iver is kept
,

in good working order . S hould the portal circu

l ato ry system get ou t of order the l iver will becom e

,

cl ogged so that ,
t he cells there cannot perform
their share of work properly and as a frequent,

result we shal l find obstinate constipation or a

chronic d iarrhoetic condition of the bowel s .

C onstipation when allowed to grow into a

,
co n

fi rmed habit is m ost injurious

, . The bowels and
the kidneys (situated j ust above the waist l ine on
each side) are the prin cipal organs o f excretion ,
 C I RCU LA TIO N AS A S O U RCE O F B EAU T Y .
59

and unl ess they d o their d uty regul arly th e blood

cannot be thoroughl y pure . You see therefo re
, ,

that al th ough each organ has its o wn parti cu lar

fun cti ons to perform i n th e in tern al ec onomy they ,

are nevertheless each d ependent on th e other to a

great extent for heal th ful ness . S hould one single
port i on refuse to d o its d uty every other pa rt is ,

W hen con
'

grad ual ly but s u rely put

, , ou t of gear .

s tipa tio n d oes not give way to a regul ar course of

diet exercise and baths you may be s ure that
, , ,

there is so me thing wrong with so me part of the

fem in ine organ isati o n , and th e sooner thi s is
rem ed ied th e better n ot only
,
fo r the gener al
heal th but al so for the nerves the tem per th e
, , ,

complexion an d the m oral well being

,
-
. The uterus
i tsel f is a s m all pear shaped organ -
. The reas on
why congestion an d i nflam mati on is more frequent
in this port ion of t he fem i ni n e system than in any
oth er is accounted for by the pecul iar arrangement
of t he bl ood ves sel s in
-
its substan ce . Wh en the
arteries enter the uterin e body they expand into
li ttl e canal l ike ves sel s and the bl ood on pas sing
-
, ,

into thes e becomes st agn an t very qu ick ly if from any

, ,

cause whatever the ci rculation shoul d be im ped ed

, .
60 BEAU T Y C U L T U RE .

The venous circulation there is a l so very dense and

complicated ; moreover the veins in this part , of the
b o dy have n o valves to fo rce the stream of bl ood
onwards so that i t requires but a very tiny im
,

pedi ment in add ition to the l aws

, of gravitation to ,

retard the flow and hold a large amount

, of bl ood
i n them until the cells and tissues become rel axed ,

softened and thoroughly broken d own

, . We may
fairly conclude therefore that a go o d circulation
, ,

is on e o f the fi rst things we should all endeavour

to acquire an d that anything likely
, to i mpair
the circulation should be strenu o usly av o ided .

Amongst other things to be recom mended as

beneficial to the feminine circulatory system is the
“ ”
wearing of cloth knick ers , instead of pettic o ats .

D raughts are amongst the most pernicious of

things but the ordinary style of C l othing worn with

,

petticoats leaves the most del icate organs exposed

to every curren t of air and this i s a frequen t
,

source of thei r catarrhal conditi o n lead ing as i t , ,

often d oes to serious and chronic d iseases

,
. M ore
over heavy cl othing hanging from the hips presses
,

upon the network of veins and arteries in that

portion of the b ody partly closing th em and thus
, ,
 C I RCU LA TIO N As A S O URCE or B E AU TY . 61

im pairing the c ircul ation . C ongestion in flamm a ,

tion and ul ceration prod ucin g leucorrhoea i s the

, , ,

resul t of this .

A woman need not abrogate on e iota of her

femin inity
becaus e she wears cloth k nickers under
her gown ; o n the contrary the absence o f petti ,

coats a dd s g ra ce and lightness to her fi gure an d

carriage in the maj ority of cas es . O f course i f ,

we are determ in ed n ot to b reathe fresh ai r , n ot to

sl eep in wel l ven tilated roo ms
-
, n ot to wear properly
made co rsets not to be ca r e fu l
, of d raughts not ,

t o exercise any dis cretion d uring our menstrua l

peri od s we cannot expect t hat N atu re is going to
,

work m iracles and keep us heal thy in spite o f o u r

defi an t wil fulnes s . S ooner or later she wi ll have
her revenge and when we find
, our hea l t h d ecl ining
and ou r beau ty ravaged we shall have n o right to
,

expect ei ther pity or sympathy however m uch ,

su ffering may be enta il ed u pon u s for those m iseries ,

wil l be not our misf ortu ne but ou r own f au l t .

I nd eed we c annot have t oo m u ch a ir o r t oo

”
littl e draught . O n entering a stu ffy roo m d oes,

n ot i ts d e—
vi talised atm osphere cause th o se who are
s ensi tive to gasp an d fee l fain t ? W hi ls t stan ding on
,
62 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

the sum mit of a mountain roaming over a gorse

,

scented moorland walking ove r the cli ffs against a

,

sti ff sea breeze drin k ing in copious d rau ghts

-
,
of

del icious ozone are we not tempted to exc l aim

,

invo l untarily

Air, aifresh l i fe bl ood thi n an d search i n g air

r! -
, ,

The clear ar b reath o G od th t l o eth us

”
d e , f a v .
 C H A PT ER V .

O N S O U ND N ERV ES AS A S O U RCE O F B E AU T Y
.

E ven from the bod y s

’
purity , th e min d

An d this l ife tha t we p emeive

Is gra n th in g an d a grave .
a

W hich for o th ers use we have

Of the righ t ag ain st th e wron g ;

Yet d o
, we t ea ch iu vaiu ?

‘
L est it be all iu vain
'
.

function of the body both physical and,

mental is under the complete con trol of certain

,

specifi c cell s , situated in some pa r t of the cerebro

spinal and sympathetic n erve s s te
y m s, which are
call ed n erve - cen tres . E a ch of these n erve—
cen tres
is so design ed that if , it be p roperl yf ed and n ot
63
64 B E AU T Y CU L T U RE .

over worked it is capable

-
, of c o ntinually su pplying
the amount of nerve force required by the organ
-

to which it is related ; but when i t is starved ,

or

an excessive d emand is made upon it for any ,

l ength of ti me its powers

,
of heal thy production
are material ly weakened an d an i mpaired nervous ,

current is the result a resul t propitious neither to

,

health nor beauty since it o ften brings in its train

,

many other evils chie f amongst wh ich are dys

,

e si and hysteria An eminent authority

p p a . on

“
neurasthenia tells us : The vices of civilisation
and the neg l ect of hygienic l aws play an im
portant part in the production of nervous dis
eases i n the ind ividual as wel l as his offspring , ,

by the red uced condition of constitution en

” “
gendered . A nd again : The nervous con
s tit ut io n , without any appreciable lesion o f tissu e ,

but with a n otab l e defi ciency of nervous force ,

is the basis of m any i mportant functional dis

”
eases , of the most dissi milar character .

O f course, I could easily go on quoting numbe r

l ess authorities both as to the d isastrous effects and
the al most universal prevalence of nervous de
rangements at this end -
o f- a- C entury ; but that is
 S O U ND N ER V ES AS A S O U RCE OF B EAU T Y . 65

quite unnecessary . We al l know these facts only

too well . The maj ority of women bel onging to
the upper cl asses of society and a great many
,
of

those i n the humbler ranks of l ife su ffer from some

,

”
form of nerves ,
to the great discom fort of them
selves and those around them . N ow it seems to
,

me t hat i f we knew a l ittle more about the anatomy

,

of the nervous system we should understand much ,

better the i mportance of the medical advice be

stowed upon Us, and therefore be m uch more l ikely

to act upon it . There is s o m uch instinctive co n

t rarin essi n the human being (feminine as well as

masculine ) that we are apt to as k advice even i n
, ,

the m atter of heal th i n ,

o rder n ot to f ol l ow it ,
un

less it happens j ust to coincid e wi th ou r o wn

desires .

R oughly speaking we m ay say that the nervous

,

system consists o f the brain the spinal cord and , ,

the nerves . The brain , of cou rse is real ly the

,

centre of it since it is the starting point

,
-
of thought
and action the seat of memory and reflection the
, ,

source of intellect and the h o me so to speak

, , ,
of

the soul . The spinal cord which is really a con ,

t in uat io n of the brain substance passes d own the ,

E
66 BEA UTY C ULTU RE .

body through the bony canal cal l ed the spinal

column and gives, o ff branches of nerves to every
other part of the system . A s this l ittle book is
n ota techni ca l treatise i n any sense o f the word ,

but merely i ntended to give the uninitiated o f my

o wn sex a clear and easily understood notion - re

garding the arrangement and function s of the

nerves I shall not employ any technical terms nor
, ,

shall I d ilate U pon the structure of the nerves ,

” ” ”
N erve jelly-
, nerve -
fibre, and nerve tissue
-
,

are all actual ities ; bu t they would in themselves

convey l ittle or no meaning to the average fem inine
m ind ignorant
,
of physio l ogy . B roadly speaking ,

and for the purp o ses of clearness and classifi cation ,

we cann o t d o better than say that there are seven

d ifferent sets , or kinds , of nerves in the human body

The Vasomotor N erves .

Th e L ocomotor N erves .

The S ensory N erves .

The S elective (or N utritive ) Nerve s

The S ympathetic N erves .

The S p hiral N erves .

The S olar p l exus N erves

-
.
 S O U N D N ER V ES As A S O U RC E OF B EAU T Y . 67

Th e principal sens o ry nerves issu e from the

brain at the base of t he S kull and fo rm what l o o ks
, ,

rather l ike a frond of the com mon fern n ear the ,

nape of the neck . They consist as their name ,

i mplies ,
of the n erves of the senses hearing ,
S ight ,

touch taste and smel l and they act as a sort

, , , of

human electric telegraph . I t is th rough their

agency that the brain gains perception of th e
outsid e world whereupo n the motor nerves are
,

brought into play because their function is to

,

control all m uscular action . This analogy to

t elegraph wires is n ot far fetched because each -

nerve is in itsel f an isolated conductor of elec

t ricity . The n erves are bo u nd together i n bundles
of varying S ize an d the nerve trun ks (which look
,
-

rather like white cords ) fo rm t he spinal cord .

Many of the nerves are such m inute threads that

they are not d iscernible without th e aid of a
m icroscope ; others are nearly as thick as the little
finger .
Quoting from H erschel a distinguished ,

German medicus I fin d the fo llowing in support

, of

what I have bee n saying The brain and n ervous

system bear a somewhat close resemblance to a
galvanic battery i n constant action whose duty it ,
68 BEAU T Y C UL T U RE .

is to provide a certain and continuous S upply of

its special fluid fo r consumption within a give n

’
time . N ow whether the nerve force actually i s
,
-

” ”
a white fluid or an electric current matters
very little to us . We can a ff ord to let scientists
thresh ou t this question at their leisure . What we
want to know is how to generate in the hu man ,

organisation nerve fo rce in such quantity and -

of

such qual ity as to enable us to take advantage of

all the youth giving and beautifying e ffects

-
of per
fe et health .

N erves mani fest themselves in a hundred

d ifferent ways from fretfulness and irritability
,
of

temper feebleness
,
of will , want of sel f reliance
-
,

excessive shyness cold feet headaches and bi liou s, , ,

attacks ,
to sum mer catarrh hay fever ,
-
,
asth ma ,

C hl orosis spasm,
of the glottis hypochondriasis
, ,

melanchol ia , C hronic dyspepsia simulated paralysis ,

and epilepsy .

H undreds of girls and women su ffer also from

what to coin an expressive phrase I will cal l
, ,

spiteful nerves nerves that produce bad dreams ,

sense l ess terrors forebod ings ,

of evil i maginary
,

wrongs and various other forms

,
. I cal l this sort
 S O U ND N ER V ES AS A S O URCE OF B EAU T Y . 69

of nerve derangement spiteful because though,

these feelings h ave often n o real foundation i n

actual fact they are j ust as real and j ust as painful
,

to the su fferer as though th ey were actualities .

S ome of yo u may w o nder perhaps , ,

ho w it is
“ ”
possible fo r nerves to prod uce cold feet and
shivering fi ts i n on e pers o n and feverishness and
,

’
del iriu m i n another whilst they may cause ,
B right s
disease in a third and apoplexy i n a fourth and
, ,
so

on . Well ,
to understand this we must revert , to

the anat o my of
the arteries The walls o f the .

arteries consist o f three c o ats — an outer an inner , ,

and a mid dle coat . The last is muscular i n char

acter and possesses the po wer
,
of expansion and
contraction and this power in the muscular walls
,

of the arteries is control led by t/ze v asom otor

n erv es . The vasomotor nerves are also closel y

connected with the sympathetic nerves , over
which we have absol utely n o control under any
circumstances for you m ust und erstand that there
,

are certain sets o f nerves as wel l as certain sets o f ,

muscles — cal led i nvoluntary m uscles — over which

we have n o control pers o nally . Fo r instance , t he

heart goes on b eating withou t any consci o us effort

7o B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

on ou r part and the sympathetic nerves go

, on

with their manufacturing duties i n the same way ,

so long as we give them the raw m aterial s to work

from . I t is their sp e cial functi o n to generat e new
ne rve fo rce
-
. They have however nothing to d o
, ,

with its e xpend iture but j ust as electricity can not

be generated without cert ain materials and under ,

cert ain co n d it io n s , the el e ctric current in

‘

so our

bodies cann o t be produced exc ept u nder similar

conditi o ns . Ther e fo r e the pr o per circulati o n of the
blood is greatly dependable U pon a healthy state
of these particular sets of nerves who littl e as they
, ,

are understo o d practically ,

h ld in thei r hands t he
o

w eal woe (so to speak ) Of u s poor mortals I n

or .

deed the m ore we study ours elves the more fully

,

we realise ho w entirely dependent on each other

all the various organs o f ou r bodies are and how ,

they act and re- act U pon each o ther in a way that
is bewilderingly wonderful .

O ne of the influences affecting the vasomotor

nerves most powerfully is col d ; it has such a
paralysing effe ct upon them that they lose their
power of controlling the muscular walls of t he

arteries . Whe n this goes on for any length of

 SO U ND N E RV ES AS A S O U RCE O F B E AU T Y .
71

tim e they become baggy ; then the bl ood begins to

,

stagn ate , an d congest i on ensu es which i f not , ,

rem o ved causes i n ti me in flam mation and ul cera

,

W here
'

ti o n. im perfect circul ation exis ts ei ther ,

”
fro m nerves or anything els e the whole sy stem
,

natural ly su ffers beca u s e wherever arterial blood

,

o f good quality fails to circulate fie ely , t hou san ds

o f tiny cel ls are bein g literally starved and was te ,

matt er that ought to be excreted is n ot carried

away . Y ou see th ere fore t hat
, , u erv e force ( wha t
ever it may be) h as a d is tin ct existence o f i ts own ,

and both its prod uction and i ts co nsumptio n are

govern ed by cert a in fund amental l aws . It is not
actual ly the source of life, but it is very near i t ,
fo r

i t is the power that enables ea ch organ in our body

to perform it s own fu n ctions ad equately . Dr.

H u h C ampbell tell s
g us in his book on N ervous
“
D iseas es : The forces pres ent in the great nerve
centres and th eir d ep enden ci a owe their ori g in
and suppo rt to the vita l process of nutrition and ,

the mo re active this is , the more abund ant and

”
po werfirl are these force s . C ons equently th is ,

ne rve force bein g the resul t of nutri t ion we must

-
,

See how im po rt ant it is for al l of us who are

72 B EAU T Y C UL T U RE .

studying the science o f beauty to keep our nervous

system generously suppl ied with the sort of food
that i t is fitted to assi milate . I f the nerves
are i mperfectly nourished they are only able to
generate a feeble or i mperfect nervous current . In
fact those
, of u s who wish either to gain or retain
our share of personal beauty and to preserve a
,

sound m ind i n a sound body must keep a fair ,

b alance betwe en demand and supply ; any dis

t urb an ce of this balance being at once treated n ot

only specifically but also generally . D rugs will d o

l ittle for us ; d iet will do m o re ; but general
hygiene will d o most . R est fresh air sunshine
, , ,

change of scene cheerful s o ci ety baths massage

, , , of

some kinds are all ,

of them more necessary to
the nervo us patient than medicines and these are ,

j ust the points where a woman with nerves ca n

do so m u ch f or lzers elf by carrying o ut, to the letter ,

the advice given her by her medical adviser .

C onstipation is frequently a most disagreeable

symptom of nervous derangements and must be ,

remed ied before a cure can be effected . I t is

caused generally by an insu ffi cient supply of

erv forc to th e al i mentar canal but the

n e e y ; u se
-
 SO U ND N ERVES AS A S O U RCE O F B EAU T Y .
73

of aperi ents in such cas es m erely pa l l iates the

diflicu l ty ,
whil st aggravatin g the cau se . I t is far
better to h ave recou rse to abd omin al massage ,

warm bat hs ,
exercise and diet , , to prod uce a
n at ural evacuation . The s kin is m ore cl osely
conn ected with the nervous sys tem and the m in d
tha n any other part of the hum an o r anis m g ;

cons equently when we cleanse and fwd

,
o ur s kin
we are al s o feed ing o ur nerves by a process o f re

flex acti o n . T his inti mate conn ection between the

skin and the great n erve centres -
is the reas on why
n ervous or sens itive people feel every atm ospheric
change so keen l y and expl ains
, ,
t oo , why i t is that
some of us are so enormously infl uen ced by th e
moral , m en tal ,
and physi cal atmosphere of our
s urr o undings ,
whil st othe rs seem so very lit tl e
”
i nfluen ced by en v i ro n ment . S oun d refreshing
sl eep is the best sort of food for the nerves and
'

is therefore of vi tal i m portance as an el i xir of

beauty . I f we are unable to get it by night we ,

m ust tak e it by day though night sl eep is m o re

,

res tful , and t h e refore m ore no uris hing . Perfect

d arkn es s is essen tial to perfect rest when the
n erves are tired or de b il ita ted . Peo pl e who sl eep
74 BEAU T Y C UL T U RE .

badly should take a cold or tepid sponge bath

i mmediately before retiring . Gentle sel f massag e -

of the head and te mples with the tips of the

fingers after getting into bed is a good remedy
fo r sleeplessness that comes from brain excite -

ment . A cup o f col d beef t ea -

, or a glass of m ilk
(heated to 1 20 degrees ) with a dessert spoonful -

of brandy o r whisky i n it taken the very last thing

, ,

’
will often i nsu re a good night s rest ,
t oo ; but
n ervous or neuralgic women should always be
very cautious in t he use o f sti mulants of any k ind ,

as they frequ e ntly d o m o re harm than good ,

except in the case of brain workers who should

-
,

always take a moderate quantity wit/z meal s ,

'

tlzez r

ou t n ot ot/
'

zerzvzse .

Dr . L audry a well known F rench physician

,
-
,

“
says in on e of his books : Paralysis neuralgia , ,

“
insanity ,
chorea ,
epilepsy catal epsy , ,
and al l
convulsive d is o rders , are frequently due to
’
an x m ia That merely means , of course that the
,

defective qual ity and quantity of the blood induces

defective nutrition of the nerve tissues and thus -
,

produces the most varied forms of nervous disease

Now this is where the im portanc e
, of whol esom e
 S O U N D N ERV E S A S A S O U RCE O F B E AU T Y .
75

food sunshine an d plenty

, ,
of fresh air comes i n , .

We cannot possibly have plenty of good blood

without all these things and i t i s quite useless ,

fo r a nervou s patient to l ie in a d arkened room

and lose her appe tite i f she desires to get well
,
.

The re are vari ous fo rms of massage which are

benefi cial fo r nervo us d iseases ; but ,
though
massage is a form of exercise exercise is not
,

massa e g
. They cannot r e pl ace each o ther i n any
sense of the wo rd ; but they may be empl o yed
concu rrently wi th great advantage . The phys io
l ogical e ffects of m as sa e are fi rst
g of al l to
stimulate the muscles to generate and d ischarge
,

carbo n ic acid from the system and to absorb ,

oxygen ; lactic acid i s also created and other ,

changes take place in the muscular system .

I t generally i ncreases t he tem perature and bul k

of the muscles ,
and changes take plac e in
the quantity and the character of the blood
“
supply . B esides this however
, ,
a muscle even ,

putting aside the visible terminations of the nerves ,

is fundamentally a muscle and a nerve , there fore

reflex nervous influences are developed . S ensory
and m otor i mpulses are generated in the nervous
76 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

system which
, ,
of course a ff ect the nerve centres
,
-

and influence the aut o mati c and reflex acti o n .

The activity of the lym phatic glands is als o

excited ,
and the portal C irculation through
the l iver is stimulated . Mass age does n ot

produce st o utness ; on the contrary superfluous ,

fat may be go t rid of by j udicious treatment ; but

there is usually a decided i ncrease i n muscl e
nutrition and muscular power ,
whilst reflex
excitabil ity i s restored to weakened muscles .

Pain or o ver sensitiveness

-
of the skin and
muscles is often rel ieved when this arises from ,

reflex irritation of the nerves . N erve function is

r est o red and a healthier brain action induced
, ;
perverted mental symptoms too are frequently , ,

d one away with and sleeplessness overcome

, . The
great thing to guard against in e mploying massage
is too much enthusiasm S ome peopl e seem to
think that it is impossible to have too much of a
g o od thing . This is a w o eful m istake particularly ,

“
where massage is concerned . M oderati o n is the
soul of wisdo m in most things . Moreover ther e ,

are a score of different methods some , of which

suit on e fo rm of ne r ves and some another . Take
 SO U ND NERVES AS A S O UR CE O F B EAU T Y .
77
’
you d on t permit yoursel f to try any
kind of mas sage merel y beca use i t has
,

benefi ted Go to a rm p on sibl e

m ed i cal m an and
, ge t h is advice be fore go ing in
m ay be d oing yoursel f
an d ruining of

beauty for ever .

n fin e m
’
Th e m mmm p d i m ym s.
[s n ot to fan cy i h at m fa ir in fife

“h ar n a
j m men fim mw to m ke it fi ir,
 C H A PT E R V I .

O N TH E F U NC TIO N S O F T H E SK I N W IT H
R E GARD TO B E AU T Y .

PAR T I .

Th e s ki n is th e gr at est m ed i
e u m for p uri fyi n g th e bo d i es .

T he s ki n is th e sea t of f l i g
ee n . t
th e m os gen e a rl o f al l o ur sen ses .

TH E skin is a term applied p opularly to that

soft pl iable membrane which c o vers the body
ex tern al ly ; but as a matter
,
of fact the interior
, of

the b o dy is also covered by a skin similar i n tex

ture called the mucous membrane ; and these two
,

sk ins are so intimately connected that anything

a ffecting the on e pr o duces a sort of reflex action
U p o n the other . The skin is composed of two
“ ” “
layers (not of three skins or seven skins as
is frequently asserted ) .

The outer o n e is cal l ed the epiderm is or scarf

78
 F U N CT IO NS O F TH E SKI N .
79

sk in the inn e r o n e, t he cutis derm a

, ,
or true s kin .

They are quite di fferent fro m ea ch o ther in st rue

tu re and t hey each have quite d ifferent fu nctions
,

to perfo rm in the hu m an o rgan isati o n .

The sca rf skin is horny in character ; it

-
has no
ne rves or blood ve ss els an d th erefo re n o sen se
-
, of

feel in g so
, its pri me d uty is to protect the sensitive
layer against o uts ide infl uence which might be
h arm ful to it . Y ou may cut o ff a bit of the scarf
s kin without causing the l east pain but d irect l y t he ,

derm a is reached a sensation o f pain is fel t .

The derma on ,
t he con tra ry be ing an intri cate
,

ne t work of n erves and bl ood ves sels feel s acutely-

, .

Perhaps it is the fact of the scarf S k in being com

-

posed in its el f of two layers that has given rise to

the popul ar errors reg arding the n umber of skins
we are s aid to possess . There is , however no ,

definite separation be tween them . The inner layer ,

call ed techn ica ll y the f ete m us oom m, is s imply the

l ower stra t um and as it grows in thickn ess i t
,

becomes gradu al ly con v erted i nto the h orny stratum

O f which we have al read y spoken . The upper
l ayer d ies con tin ually and is rubbed , o ff the surface
by an y form of contact . A gr eat proporti o n o f
80 B EAU T Y C U L T U RE .

th e scar f skin is composed of flattened scales c l ose l y

-
,

matted together so as to form a dense and lami

mated texture that yields l ike a
, fin el y -
woven gar
ment with every movement of the body . These
scales are ,
of cours e perpetually u ndergoing a
,

process of formation and growth in order ,

to replace
th o se which are continually falling o ff under the
conj oint influence of the friction produced by ou r

C lothing and o ur ablutions .

No w , yo u will al l easily understand th at this ,

being the case the degree ,

of elasticity of the skin
must be largely dependent U pon the quantity and
qu ality of the blood and the nerve force that g o es -

to feed it . A ge ,
or disease ,
or even a temporary
functional derangement of any organ of the body ,

will always prod uce an en feebling e ffect on the

general vital ity and bring i n its train lines
, ,

’
wrinkles and crow s feet
,
-
. O ver some of these
lines we have no more control than we have ove r
the involuntary m uscu l ar movements of the heart
or the function of the l ungs ; but there are others
that N ature has placed pretty well in o ur own
hands more particularly those
,
of the face .

O n chem ical examination the scarf skin is found ,

-
 FU N CTIO N S O F T H E S KI N . 8x

to be com pos ed of a subst an ce cal l ed albumen ,

si mil ar to d ri ed white of egg . This is the reas on

why the use o f plenty of so ap in the d aily ablu
tions is abs ol utely n ecess ary i f the skin is to be
,

kept heal thy an d abl e to do its work properly ,

becau se albu men is sol uble in al kalies . S oap ,

of

whatever kind it may be , is a com po und of al kali ,

soda or potas h and oil

, , , or fat of variou s k inds .

I n ru bbing th is on to the s ki n we cau se it to com

bine with th e oily fluid which has be en ex creted
by the sebaceous gl and s an d th u s remove it fro m
,

the surface . S oap also softens and d is solves the

pe rfi cial stratu m of the scarf sk in an d when th is
-
,

is rubbed off the d irt is carried away wi th it s o ,

that each ti me we wash ourselves p rop erly we take

-

o ff o u r o l d worn o u t skin
-
and l eave a new clean
,

healthy one to take i ts place . I f you will l ook at

your sk in you will find that it contains nu mberl ess
l ittl e mouths cal l ed f ares These are th e open .

ends of tiny t ubes which serve two pu rposes ;

,

they are of tw o kinds the perspiratory glands

,

and the sebace ous or oi

l- glands and their du ties
,

are to pu ri fy and to feed . The skin is on e o f the

p ri ncipal ex creto ry o rgans of the body and thes e
,
f
82 B EAU T Y C U L T U RE .

pores have to excrete water ,

o il , and other im
purities ; then , ou the other hand i f we keep them ,

clean they readi ly absorb oxygen from the atmo

,

sphere or d uring a bath and this i s the sort

,
of food
that makes both for health and beauty . The
amount that these hungry l ittle mouths are capable
of absorbing is proved by the fact that lead mer ,

cury and other poisons can be put into the system

,

through the skin . H ere again you wil l see why

, ,

I am alway s harping u pon proper venti l ation and

plenty of fresh air as on e o f the m ost i mportant
aids to physica l b eauty .

I f we want the skin to be beautiful we must ,

take care to give i t opportuniti es of getting plenty

of oxygen the only kind ,
of food that really feed s
it n aturally .

B ut , beside s the perspiration which we are able

to see and feel there is another kind that is going
,

on con tinua ll y without ou r being sensibly aware

of it . This is called inse n sible p erspiration and is ,

a necessary function . The i mportant sha r e that

the s kin plays in th e work in g power of the vital
functions was str ikingly shown several years ago .

A child ,
who had been covered with gold lea f -
 F U N C TIO NS O F T HE SK I N . 83

to repres en t an angel in a pa pa l process ion at

R ome died after a few hours from the e ffects of
,

t his complete obstru cti on to th e fun ctions of the

S kin .

The scarf skin -

is al so in teresting from anot her
poin t of view . I t is here that we fin d the o rigin of

the d i fferent S hades of co mplexion . The various

gra datio ns of hue betwee n the d ain ty bl o nd e and
the pea ch -
e brunett e the white ha i red pink
,
-
,

eyed A lbin o and the black haired -

, br o nz e hued-

A friean , lie in the newly fo rm ed l ayers of

-
t he f ete

m uscoru m . The c o lou r of the c o mplexi on is d ue

la rgely to the a ction of l ight and hea t . I n tropical
countries where bo th abound
,
to exces s there is an
,

intense w eal th of colour everywhere ; in the chil ly

northern regions where both are wanting there is a
lack of inten se colour . The phys ical e ffect of this
in the ani mal world is that the other organs o f
ex cretion rel ieve the sk in o f part o f its d ut ies .

The sam e prin ci ple applies to su mm er and winter .

I n the glare of a m idsu mm er su n the fairest co m

plexion usu al ly becom es m ore or l ess embrowned ;

but the s carf s k in o f winter is white
-
,
so th e fa irn ens

is gradu ally restored to the skin when the he at of ,

84 BEAU T Y CU L T URE .

the sun diminishes as soon as the outer layer has

,

worn away . This shows us therefore that we , ,

should always try to preserve o ur skin from

sudden changes of temperature such as are ,
in

d u ced by the d irect rays of a scorching fire the ,

scathing d ryness of an east wind the piercing ,

coldness of a snowy northern blast , or the brazen

burning heat of a meridian sun .

A nd now having discussed the scarf skin let us

,
-
,

turn our attention to the true sk in . N o other

substance in the whole of the natural world has
ever been more beautifully thought o u t, o r more
admirably adapted to its purposes than the living ,

breathing S kin ; for we m ust always bear in mind

that the skin really d oes l ive and breathe and feel
, , ,

j ust as much as the heart or the brain . I t consists

anatomically of a papillary layer and a fi brous
layer . The latter is made up of m inute fibres ,

collected into smal l strand like bundles which are -

,

aga in I nterwoven so as to form a strong flexible

web . Near the U pper surface they are so cl osely ,

woven together that when you see a bit through

a good m icroscope it looks almost exactly like
coarse porous felt . The pores which are round
, or
 F U NC TI O N S O F TH E SKI N . 85

oval in shape ,
are separated from each o t her by
fi brous strands fo rm in g together a k in d
, of coarse
n etwork th e Open meshes
, of which are fi lled with
ti ny bags of fat and it is j ust these l i t tl e fatty
,

bags that render it el as ti c and pe rm it ,

of the
d il atation and con traction of t he membrane in
every d irection w ith ou t the leas t inj u ry to any
porti on of its deli cately organi sed struc t ure
-
. B ut

the vital o rganis ation of the sk in is even more

m arvellous than its anatomy . The fibrous strands
are co mposed of thr ee m ateri als — white fi bres
com paratively inelastic ; yellow fi bres of a very
elasti c though brittle nature ; and redd ish fibres ,

which exhibit neither strength nor el asticity but ,

are endowed wi th a very curious fac ul ty of inde

pendent motion .

I n spea k in g of the s tructu re of the sk in ,

S ir
“
E ras m us W ilson says : Th e se nsi tive layer is
thin soft and uneven pinkish in hue and com
, , , ,

posed of vesse l s whi ch confer its vari o us tints

of red ; and ne rves which giv e it the facul ty of

se nsati on . I ts unevenness has reference to an

v ia
“
i m portan t law in ani mal organ isation , , that
of mul ti pl ying su rface for in crea se of function ;
86 B EA UT Y CU L T URE .

and the m ann er of effecting this object is by

the extension of its substance into l ittle elon
gated conical prom inences technically termed ,

papillae . These papill ae are microscopic in size ,

as may be inferred from their being i mper

cept ibl e to the n aked eye ; and as they exist in
various degrees of magnitude on every part of

the skin their nu mber is infinite

, . I n structure
some contain a minute blood vessel (termed a -

capillary from its hair like size) and some a -

”
minute vein .

I t is into this sensitive layer of the derma that

the blood which goes to feed (o r starve ) the skin is
distributed by means o f tiny arteries which m ake ,

thei r way to the surface of the skin thr o ugh the

fibrous strands already alluded to and having , ,

reached the por o us layer empty themselves into a

,

netw o rk of capillaries . The veins and arteries of

t he whole b ody merely act as pipes to carry the

blood to and fr o m the heart ; but the capillari es
have a mu ch more important duty They have to
'

act as d istributors and they are therefore very

, , ,

nu merous .

D aniel Turner a dead and gone

,
ol d physician ,
 F U NC TIO N S OF THE SK I N . 87

puts it rather qu aintly an d at ,

th e same tim e
“
forcibly in d ecl aring
, t hat : There is no

”
im permeable to that vi tal nectar the bl ood ,
.

Th ese capill aries ,

being po rous , permi t the
pas sage into the sk in of oxygen and o ther nutrient
propert ies f rom the bl ood whilst they al so
,
take u
p
and carry ar
ray the ca rbonic acid gas generated in ,

the t issues of t he body and exhale it thro ugh the

,

l ungs . Thus th ey are perpet uall y acfi n g both as

feeders and scavengers .

Th e compl exion of
the s kin (exceptin g that
prod uced by the pigmentary matter in t he scarf
sk in ) is entirely due to the quantity quali ty and , ,

veloci ty of the blood in these capill aries . For

instance, blus hing is prod uced by a sudden rush of

bl ood to t he sk in ; pall or by a sudden rus h of
blood f rom the S kin B lueness or purpleness by
.

retard ation o f the c irculation ei ther fro m diseas e , ,

cold , or any other cause ; yel lowness from an

ad m ixture of bil e wi th the blood ; greenishn ess
from a d e fici en cy of arteri al blood in th e system ;

flo rid n es s from an excess of bl ood in t he system ,

and so on .

The bl ood supply in t he whole body being ,

88 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

however more , or less controlled by the nervous

system we must, n ot forget to treat the nerves of

the sk in with d ue consideration since they are

, ,
Of

course connected with the nervous centres

,
of the
brain and spinal marrow . Th is being the case we ,

can very easily understand that any influence

acting on the brain centres -
or the general current
of nerve force must necessarily produce its e ffect
-

fo r good or ill U pon the condition of the skin and

the beauty of the complexion whilst , on the othe r
hand the well being
,
-
or d isease of the S k in must
necessarily exert a certain influen ce upon the whole
of the nervous system . Most o f us can tal k glibly
“
about the pores of the skin , but few of us

realise what we are really talking about I fancy , , or

we should be much more particular about the air

we breathe the clothes we wear the baths we take
, , ,

the soap we use the creams ,

or washes we apply ,

and a dozen other acti o ns o f ou r d aily l ives . If

we real ised that these l ittle mouths lead d irectly to
tiny tubes which we may look upon as the lungs
, of

the skin we should be afraid to sleep in an

,

u nventilated bedroom as so many hundreds , of

people are doing every night of their lives and we ,

 F U N CT IO N S OF TH E SK I N . 89

S hould j ust as s oo n neglect to take our baths as to

eat our meals .

The perspiratory glands not only remove water

and o ther i mpuriti es from th e system but they ,

also regulate to a great exten t th e tem peratu re

, ,

of the body . The insensible perspirati o n co n

t in u al l y goin g on , passes o ff i n an imp ercep tibl e

vapou r and i t is only when the m uscles are being

,

actively exercised ,
or the nervous system is nu

wont edly excit ed ,

that pe rspiration becomes a
p ercep tible fact in the fo rm of what l oo k s like drops
of w
ater . When i t is chem ical ly analysed i t is
found h owev er to cons ist
, , of a cert ain propo rtion
of an imal matter various gas es acids c al careous
, , ,

ea rth salts metal s and some sulphur

, , , .

S hould perspiration be checked ei ther by cold or

any interference with the functi ons of the skin ,

these el e ments not being properly eliminated are

, ,

circulated through the system by the bl ood and ,

often prod uc e very inj urious e ffects ; though som e

times , if the other excretory organs happen to be
particul arly heal thy and vigorous th ey are able ,

to take u pon themselves the extra labour of cl ear

i ng them out of the system and t hen little harm ,
90 BEAU T Y CU L T URE .

ensues . S t ill It d o es not d o to depend U pon this

“
o ff chance i f we have any sort of desire to
retain o ur healthfulness ,
our youthfulness ,
o r our

beauty . The hygienic value of water as a means ,

of keeping the skin in condition has been ap re

, p
ciated even from the e arliest days . I n many of
the o ld rel igions bathing and frequently washing
the hands and feet were Observances fro m which
neither sex was exempt and baths were dedicated ,

by the ancients of various p e ri o ds to the d ivinities

of Wisdom S trengt h and M edicine as well as to
, , ,

H ygeia the goddess of health

,
. E ven at this end
O f- a- century the M ussul man of to day looks up o n
-

us ,
n ot only as shameless and abandoned creatures ,

b e cause we go about this beauti ful world free and

u nveiled but also as separate units b el o nging to
,

the despicable army of the Great U nwashed . In

this latter opinion I am sometimes inclined to feel
that they are not far wrong because a great deal
’

o f o ur bathing is so inadequate and so badly done , .

H eaps of women splash thems elve s o ver with cold

water every morning and fo ndly i magine that they
,

have done their duty nobly . No t at all . You

“
have given your ne rves a refreshe r fo r which
 FU N C T I O N S O F T H E S KI N .
91

they are grat eful it is tru e , ; but unl ess y o u have

rubbed your ski n al l over wi th a loofah or a
T urk ish glove and p l en ty of
, g ood s oa p,
you have
n ot had a bath .

S om e del icate women cannot s tand a cold bath ,

in which case the best and si mples t form

,
of

“ ”
m orning tub i s to take a towel d ip i t in cold ,

water soap it thoroughly and rub it

, , briskly all

over the body ; then S ponge o ff the lather quickly ,

and d ry it briskly wi t h a thick soft Turkish bath , ,

sheet . Water is a toni c in itsel f s o that and the

,

friction combined stimulate the S kin tone the

,

n erves and brace U p the muscular system

, .

TO a l ess del icate woman the c o ld or tepid hip

bath is even more benefi cial ; but it is best to
sponge the n ape of the neck the shoulders
, ,
an d the
chest well be fo re S itting d own in the c o ld water ,

an d th e wh o l e process of s o aping and S ponging

Ought n ot to take m o re th an three or fo u r minutes ,

especially in wint e r . S peed and brisknes s a re a

”
n ec essary part of this tubbing ,
or the skin is apt
to become C hilled by the surrounding atmosphere .

S ir J o hn Fl oyer, an o ld authori ty on this point ,

tells us They who d esire to pass the short tim e

92 B EAU T Y CUL T U RE .

of their l i fe in good health ought o ften to use

cold bathing ; its e ff ects reach the very soul of

the animal rendering it more lively and brisk in

,

”
all its o perations .

Fo r the majority of women however l iving in

, ,

ou r variable E ngl ish cl ime the tepid bath is safer ,

and m o re beneficial . I t restores muscular power

and tranquillises the nerves thus removing restless ,

ness or fatigue and it may be taken at any hour

,

of the day particularly

,
on getting U p in the morn
ing or dressing for d inner at night but , of course ,

no s ort of bath should be taken in less than a

couple hours af ter a meal The temperatu re o f
of .

a tepid bath should not exceed 9 5 degrees A .

‘

warm bath ,
about 105 degrees , for cleansing
purposes is absolutely necessary at l east
,
o nce a
week ; but it is a mistake to make them a frequent
habit because they relax the skin and the m us
,

cu l ar action and are consequently productive

, of

wrinkles and lassitude .

H ot baths ( I 1 0 degrees ) should n ot be indulged

in by the normally healthy habitually unl ess they ,

are past the meridian of li fe and have

, d ry skins in ,

which case a hot b ath indulged in for twenty

 F U NCTIO N S OF TH E SKI N .
93

m inutes twice a week has been fo und eflicaciou s in

retarding the evi dences o f advancing years . We
ought also to be care firl not to remain t oo long i n
t he bath . F rom three m inutes to twenty minutes
accordin g to the temperature is enough fo r the
stronges t amongst us . The ol d adage that you
can never have too much of a g ood thing seems
“
to me most fal lacious . B aths are certainly good
”
things ,
but y ou may j ust as eas ily have t oo m uch
of them as too l ittl e and wi th equally bad resul ts
,

to the cause of beauty .

A lavishness of soap not only cl eanses the pores

and rubs o ff the old s ca rf ski n but it also
,

brings the atmosphere n ea rer to the derm a and ,

rubs oxygen into the bl ood and nerves ,

so to
speak . M oreover friction ful fils three n ecess ary
,

purpos es fo r the sk in ; i t removes dirt and wom

Out tissue it stimulates the circul ation both of the
,

blood and the nerve c u rren t an d i t exercises the

-
,

muscl es .

B athin g and exercise ar e in deed closely all ied to

ea ch other they both assist the action of the sk in ,

and both when pers isted in

, t oo l ong ,
or t oo Often ,

are prod uctive of exhaustion which is neith er

, co n
94 BEAU T Y C U L T UR E .

d u civ e to health nor beauty . H ot baths have a

’
depressing effect U pon the heart s action and ,

S hould therefore be carefully avoided by anybody

su ffering from d isease or weak action of the heart ;

Warm baths are so extremely refreshing to weary

nerves that they may sometimes be m ad e to take
the place of sleep . N apole o n attributed his o wn
exhaustless energy and nerve forc e to the c o nstant -

u se O f warm baths . O n many a famous battle

fi eld amidst the din and confusion
, of preparati o ns
for the ensuing con flict this famous little man
, of

the iron will and the d auntless heart would d o ff

the historic grey coat and the three corn ered hat -

to l ay himsel f up to his chin in the warm water of

his portable bath and emerge a quarter

,
of an hour
l ater as fresh and vigorous as though he had j ust
’
enj oyed a night s peaceful slumber A n O riental .

woman o f high degree S pends o ften a couple o f

hours in her bath which is m ed ic ated with all sorts
,

of unguents the secrets

,
of which are k no wn only
to the bathing women who prepare them . A s an
opiate fo r a healthy woman who feels tired ou t

fr o m overw o rk of any kind there is nothing equal

to a hot bath . O ver fatigue Often produces such
-
 FU N CT IO N S O F TH E SK I N .
93

irritabil ity of t he nervou s sys tem that we som e

times li e wide awak e tossi n ,
g and tu rn in g fee l in ,
g

hot an d cold by turns ,

fo r h o urs after go ing to bed .

I t is this cond ition that can be o bvi ated by a three

’
or four min utes soak in a hot bath foll owed by a
,

v igor o us rubbin g wi th a rough Turkis h bath sh eet ,

and a tu mbler of warm mil k or hot water slowly

sipped after gett ing into bed . H ot baths will als o
relieve cases of obs tin ate cons ti pation and will ,

sometim es do away wi th a racking hea dache i f ,

reso rted to d irectly t he fi rst symptoms show them

sel ves .

person al ly I cons id er the m ost

S pe ak ing ,

d eli cious form of ba thing to be what the

“ ”
A m erica ns ca ll a gl am e
-
bat h , which is taken as
foll ows z— H alf fil l your ba th wi th hot water ( I I O
degrees ) O n getting in lie d own for a co upl e of
.

minutes then th oroughly soap and sc rub yo u rsel f

,

'

all over with a l o ofah or a glove ; rinse ofl the s oap ,

and tu rn on the cold water tap . Wh ilst it flows

in to the bath continue to dash
, t he water all over
you with a big sponge un til it gets quite cold,
or

“
reach es the point of invigoration and gl o rifica
ti o n ; ”
then j u mp ou t wrap you rsel f in a bath
,
96 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

sheet to prevent shivering and rub yoursel f til l

‘

yo u are all in a glo w . A t the end of this process

you will feel ready to scal e mountain tops dance -
,

ballets write books

, ,
or do anything e l se requiring
energy and spirit .

From the very earliest ages we find that beauti ;

ful women as a rule indulged i n a great luxury ‘

of baths . H ypatia C leopatra A spasia D iane d e

, , ,

’
Po ict iers , N inon de L E n cl os , and scores of other
celebrat ed beauties were al l luxuri o us bathers .

M lle . T all ien , we are t o ld i n s o me

, of the g o ssipy
French annals of her times used to indulge as, ,

often as this was practicable in fruit baths the ,

-
,

recipes for which were something like this — Take

a marble bath of the m ost l uxurious description ,

fi ll it with tepid water let your gardener bring ,

in 20 lbs . of fresh strawberries and 3 lbs . of ripe

red raspberries grown specially for that p u rp os e:
‘

C rush them in your hand and throw them into

the water . Then step in and after lying still
,

for ten minutes perform your ablutions

, . W hen
you get o u t, your flesh will be fi rm perfumed , ,

and tinted a delicious delicate pink .

. I f you
have neither garden n or gardener neither m arble
,
 FU N C TIO NS OF THE SK I N .
97

bath nor big banking accounts take ,

on e poor
handful of the fruit and wash your face and
hands only . Wild strawberries are even more
beneficial than the garden varieties ,
parti en
l arl y if yo u gather them yoursel f i n the dewy
fragrance of a summer morning . I have tried
this personal ly ,
and found that it rendered
my sk in delightfully odorous and as soft as
velvet .

B aths in which cowslips or vio l ets have been

steeped are equally poetical and very soothing ,

to peopl e of sensitive nervous organisations .

L ime blossom
-
,
elder -
flo wer, slices of cucumber ,

mel on ,
peaches ,
o range and l emon m ake very
, ,

pleasant additions to S pring and su mmer ablutions ,

besides being wel l known skin - -

b eau tifiers . Pine
baths are quite as invigorating as the breath of
the dark pine forests themselves electric baths and
steel baths remind on e o f bathing in D ame C l iquot
,

champagne ; but supp o sing these luxuri es, to be

o ut of reach a warm bath with a few spoon fuls
,

’
of J une s H ealth S alt is (th o ugh less po etical )
B ath

a refreshing aromatic pick m e U p when on e feels - -

,

“ ”
mentally and physically done . B eing made from
G
98 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

various herbs this salt renders the water de

,

l icio u s ly soft and invigorating .

Popp aea the wi fe , of the E mperor N ero was in ,

the habit of taking a daily s ies ta i n a bath of war m

’
asses mil k ; and the N ew Y ork beauties of to day
-

are seething their dainty li mbs I a m to l d i n m il k , ,

fresh from the cow . This is doubtless an excellent

idea but it d oes not quite meet with my personal
,

approbation . Warm milk is n ice and nourishing

as a d rink but where l uxurious bathing is
,
con

cerned I prefer fruit and flowers .

O ur o wn “
great ladies ”
of the last century
bathed themselves in all sorts of things j udging ,

from the quaint old vol ume s it h as giv en me much

amuseme n t to p eruse . M el o n juice an d mil k of

al monds weak v eal br o th and gre en ba i ley water

, ,

not to mention aromatic and h erbal decoctions ,

containing a list of ingred ients as l o ng as you r

arm to be gath e red and pr ep ared in all sorts
, of

wonderful and c o mplicated ways . Marie An to in

ette too is said
, , to have constantly used in her
baths and ablutions a recipe made U p specially for
her by Fagon (who was C hie f Physician to L ouis -

XI V ) This contained wild thyme marj oram

.
, ,
 FU NCT IO NS O F TH E SK I N .
99

laurel leaves bay salt and serpol et but how

,
-
, ,
or in
what proportions has not come down to posterity
, ,

s o far as I can d iscover .

’
Isn t i t A lexandre D u mas who says epigram
“
m at ical ly in on e of his works : C leanliness i s
hal f a vi rtue and uncleanliness is a vice and a
,

hal f .

I am incl ined to go even fur

th er , an d say that
cleanl iness is a w/wl e vi rtue seein g ,
ho w much i t
makes for health and therefore for moral and
,

mental cleanl iness , too . A s a legitimate means of

acquiring and preserving beau ty it is undoubtedly

i nval uable— a fact which has evidently been ap p re

ciated and acted upon by the women of each an d

every cen tury since the world was in its youth ,

e lse why al l this luxu ry of baths and bathing ?

They apparently real ised as much ,
or possibly
more than , you or I d o, that health and scrupul o us
cleanl iness is the corner stone -
of real and lasting
beauty . The val ue of baths in relati o n to heal th i s
very strongly borne in upon us when we are
tr avell ing amongst foreign scenes . What are t he

ruins mostly to be found where Greeks or R o mans

have co l onised or conquered ? There are of ten
I OO BEAU T Y CU L T UR E .

temples and amphitheatres ,

al ways baths an d
aqueducts . The rulers of these two great races
fully understood that h is easier to govern a con
tented nat ion with healthy nerves and sound
digestions than it is to govern a people who are
,

depressed and dyspeptic and knowing that a d aily

,

bath goes a long way towards soothing nervous

irritation and sti mulating the d igestive o rgans ,

they wisely considered i t money wel l spent that

was expended i n providing magnifi cent and luxu
“
rio n s public baths where ,
the masses coul d
th o roughly enj o y their tubbing either free , ,
or at a
very nominal charge . Were they not wise ? Why
are we not equally wise P I f we can only inculcate
the beauty of cleanl iness the cleanlin ess
, of beauty
will inculcate itsel f .

S ome wise man (but unfortunately I cannot re

cal l his name j ust now) has said that The great
problem of progress can only be so l ved upon the
basis of the culture o f person al health and personal
”
cleanliness , and I entirely concur in this o pinion .

We are n ot in the habit of regarding the E liza

bethan age as an epoch when cleanl iness and re

fi n emen t were either fashionable or universal

 F U NCTIO NS OF TH E SK I N . IOI

S ha k espeare ad vised
th em , in thos e

“
Bid tbem was h tb fi faoes ,

’
An d h eep tbeh '
beetb clean ,

a trifle brutal ly one mu st ad mi t though

, ,
 C HA PT ER V I .

THE HAI R A ND I T S B EA U TY .

PAR T I I .

P ERHA P S few of
us realise that the hair (l i ke the
nails ) is merely a modifi cation o f the s carf skin -
.

This is the reason why any d isease or even any ,

functional derangement of the sk in generally must , ,

and does al ways a ffect the c o ndition quality and

, , ,

appearance of the hair .

H airs are analogous to the scarf s k in in many -

ways and are so inti mately connected with it that

,

they come o ff with it as in,

t he case of bl isters ,

“ ”
scalds ulcerations and
, , d andru ff . The hairs
traverse the skin l ike the o il glands and the per
S p iratory glands . The short d owny hairs extend
only to the superfi cia l strata but the l ong hairs go,

much d eeper . W ithin the skin each hair is , en

ro z
 TH E HA I R AND ITS B EAU T Y . 103

cl osed in a shea th or tube closed at its ext remity

, ,

where it blen ds wi th the root of the hair . I t is

cons tru cted l ike the oil tu bes an d t he perspiratory
gl ands having a l in ing
,
of scarf skin a middle
-
,

vas cul ar layer ,

an d an extern al fibrous layer .

They originate on the surface of the s kin in the

form of li ttle pou ches an d then grow
,
in wa rd : to
the neces sary depth . The length and thi ckn es s of

the hai r is regul ated by N ature on certain prin cipl es ;

but , of cou r se the condition of the sk in m ust
,

al ways greatly infl uen ce the condition of the hai r .

The h air grows no rmally about hal f an in ch in a

mon th . I t grows faster by d ay than by night in ,

sum mer than in w inter in youth than i n , ag e, and

when cut oft en than it d oes if le ft to itse l fi Th e
small downy hairs on the body are cylind ri cal in
shape and more
,
or l ess oval . The hairs of t he

h ea d are never pe rfectly cyl indri cal and the tip ,

of

each ind ivi dual hai r is conical and poin ted . The
colour and texture of t he hair is grea t ly influen ced
by congeni t al d iseas es . People inhe ri ting a
scroful o us tendency usual ly have thin dry hair , ,

for ins tan ce

Ml hi
.

a p gi, the celebrated physiologist has com ,

1 04 B EAU T Y CUL T U RE .

pared the hair in its hair tube to a flower growing-

in a flower pot
-
b ut this is scarcely an apt illustra
tion unl ess we i magine the flower pot to be in the
,
-

shape of a sheath . The l ower end of the hair tube -

terminates i n a sort of pouch fi lled i n by a nu mber

of granules and freshly formed cells that constitute
-

the bulb . From the bott o m of the pouch rises a

s mall pear shaped mass
- of pulp which is the active
,

developing porti o n of the hair from which the cells

are produced . The col o ur of the hair depends
upon the pigment contained in the hair cells j ust -
,

as the hue of the complexion depends upon the

pigmentary matter i n the cells of the scarf sk in -
.

The fibrous portion of the hair also regulates its

strength or weakness and its elasticity .

A s the hair grows it moves the superfi cial scales

,

towards its aperture and scatters them, on the sur

”
face of the head in the form of scurf . This is a
natural and healthy formation which only becomes
d isagreeable and unnatural when an a bnormal
am o unt is produced ,
or when it forms in patches at
the outlet of the tube and thus prevents the proper
w
,

gro th of the hair . With regard to the chemical

agents producin g the varied colours of the human
 TH E H AI R AND I TS B EAU T Y . 1 05

h air,
-
S ir E ras mus Wil son in his ad mi rable book ,

on t his subject writes ,

C hemica l anal ys is shows the hair to be com

po sed of ani m al matter (al bu men ) of a
a bas is of ,

certain proportion o f o ily subs tan ce of the salts of ,

lime which enter into the composition of bone ,

of

flint ,
of sulphur and two metal s
, ,
v iz . m anganese
and iro n . The qu antity of sul phur Is somewhat
consid erabl e and it is this subs tan ce which is the
,

princi p al cause of the disagreeable od our evolved

by hai r d uring c o mbustion . The c o nstituents of

hair of vari ous colours al so present some di ffer

e mees . Fo r example, red hair contai ns a reddish
col o ured oil a l arge proportion
,
of sulphu r and a ,

smal l qu anti ty of iron fair hai r a white ,

o il wi th
ph o sphate of magn esia ; and the white h air of the
a ed a considerable qu antity
g of bone earth -
or

phosphate of li me . A ccording to the latest ul ti

mate an alysis fair h air contains the l eas t carbon
,

and hydrogen and m o st oxygen and s u lphur ;

black hair fo llows next ; while brown hair gives
the l argest propo rtion of ca rbon wi th somewhat
,

less hydrogen than black hair and the smallest ,

”
qu antity of oxygen and sulphur .
106 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

The cur l ing o r n on - curlin g p r operty of the hair

is due , t oo, to the presence o f animal matter having ,

as albumen has saline properties i n its composition

, .

The ordinary e ffect of damp in destroying curli

ness i s wel l known but ,
fe w people understand
that the cur l iness of the hair also depends a good
deal on the state o f health of the individual hersel f .

C limate has also a great influence in this respect ,

as i s easily seen by comparing the long straight ,

hair of no rthe rn peoples with the curliness of

that of dwellers in southern climes .

I n support of my assertion that the beauty of

the hair is dependent on health I must again

,

“
quote from E rasmus Wilson : I n a state of

perfect health the hair m ay be full glossy ,

“
and rich i n its hues in consequence , of the
absorption from the blood of a nutritive j uice ,

containing its proper proportion of o ily and

albuminous elements . I n persons ou t of health ,

it may l ose its brill iancy of hue and become

,

lank and straight fro m the i mbibition of j uices

imperfect in composition and ill elaborated ; ,
-

while in the third group there may be a total ,

absence of such nutritive juice and the hair , ,

 TH E HA I R AN D IT S B EAU TY . 1 07

as a consequence l oo k s d ry faded and ind eed

, , , , ,

as is the cas e ,

Premature ba l dness and premature greyness are

usual ly d ue to an impair ed condition of the blood ,

and cons equently of the nervous system . In

both these cases l ocal remedies m ay often be
,

used with goo d e ffect i f they are appl ied properly .

I t is however quite useless to d eluge the scal p

, ,

with a lotion or an ointm ent and leave N ature to

,

d o the rest because N ature is

,
n ot going to be
’
i mposed u pon by anybody s indolence . Whatever
remedy may be used i t requires to be either ,

’
gently brushed or rubbed into t/ze skin o f tire fieaa
(n ot the hair) so as to prod uce acti ve and healthy
,

functio n .

S el f massage with the tips o f the fi ngers until a

-

feeling of gl o w is produced al l over the head is ,

most beneficial to the strength health and beauty , ,

of the hair ; b ut always bear in mind when using ,

a bru sh and comb the rather parad oxical adage

, of

“
the old B ristol barber that : Yo u cannot brush
’ ’
”
the l zeaa t oo much , or the fia z r t oo little .

The o nly safe and effectual way to treat weak or

fa l ling hair is fi rst

,
of all to d iscover w/zy it is weak
 1 08 BEAU T Y CUL T U RE .

or falls out , for a d ozen causes may produce

similar e ffects yet each ,
on e will need i ts o wn
distinctive treatment and an indiscriminate ,
or

casual u se o f any hair wash that happens to be

-
,

recommended or advertised , may increase the

trouble instead of curing it . There is no pomade
or hair wash in the world that can possibly be a
-

u niversal panacea ; therefore it is better before ,

trying any of them to have your hair examined

,

by a rel ia bl e hairdresser and at the same ti me to

,

pay attention to your general health by way ,

of

wholesome d i et fresh air exercise and occupation

, , ,
.

D yspepsia and nerves are j ust as fatal to the

beauty of the hair as they are to the beauty of the
complexi o n . Y our hair must be fed and ventilated .

I t requires nourishment air and light j ust as , , ,

m uch as a rose tree -

or any plant d oes i f it is , to

show to advantage . Greyness is generally caused

by a want of tone in the hair producing organs -
if
,

therefo re this tone can be restored by hygienic

,

treatment and the grey

, or withered hairs are
pl ucked ou t, greyness may be arrested .

E rasmus Wilson says : I ndeed it would al most

,

seem th at by proper management not only might

 THE HAI R AND ITs B EAU T Y . 1 09

the colou r o f the hair be preserved for many years

beyond the natural period for su ch a ch ange bu t ,

als o that the hair i tself might be retained to the

”
end of life . This is exactly my op inion bas ed ,

upon pe rsonal observation am ongst ma ny nati ons

l iving in va rious clim c
s .

There a re nu mbers of wom en am on gst the older

gene rations who retain the youthful colour of their
hair (isn t/tou t the appli ca tion o f dyes ) till over
'

threes co re and I could poin t out dozens of charm

,

ing old ladies over fourscore wi th l ux urian t white

h ai r tha t is quite beautif ul to behold ; yet ,
on the
o ther han d I a m d ail y mee ting girls
, of twenty
fo ur or twen ty -
fiv e years whose l o cks are turning
grey and becoming s ca nty before they have wel l
reached matu ri ty and yet these sam e girls are
,

o ft en sil ly enough to pay no heed to these

sympto ms of prem ature decay i n themselves ; to
let their heal th , t heir hair , their complexions
“ ”
all go without makin g a single conscien ti o us
'

e flo rt ei ther to retain or restore whatever be auties

may have been bestowed on them . S ometi m e s
they d o it in th e un t hin king carel essness of

the richly dowered ; someti mes in the cu l p aéle

I 10 B EAU T Y CU LT URE .

humility of thos e who feel themselves i ll treated -

by D ame N ature . This is a great m istake . S he

who is prodigal will l ive to regret her prodigality
as surely as the spendthrift when he is reduced to
the position of beggar or borrower ; and she who
’
is careless o ut o f pure u m bl e m in ded n es s is j ust
throwing away her s mall coin instead of investing
it at good interest . B esides , we have n o right ,

anyone of u s, to waste any scrap or chance of

beauty that has been given to us therefore let us

take care o f o ur hair .

There are four varieties of scal ps just as there

,

are fo ur kinds of c o mplexions . The hair may ,

therefore be greasy dry brittle

, , , , or o t ugh . H ealthy
hair ought to be very elastic and capabl e of bear
i ng a good tug without inj ury to i t . E ven a single
hair is very strong and holds quite a heavy weight
,

depend ing from it . We al l kn o w the story of

D amocles and the sword suspended over his head

’
by a single hair . I t wasn t exact l y a pleasan t sort
of position I must
,
o wn ; still , he n eed not have
been v er
y nervous over it provided he knew the ,

l it of the hair The tint of the hair depends

qu a y .
,

like the tint of the comp l exion l argely upon , th e

 THE HA I R A ND IT S B EAU TY . III

am ount and intensity of the pigmentary matter

i n the gl an ds . The colo u r of hair that is j ust
beg inn in g to fad e may sometim es be res tored
by a course of iron taken intern al ly . B ut you
mu st be sure that th e iron rea l ly g ets in to fil e
sy s t em . S ome of the ton i cs so m an y o f us tak e
u nder the fond delusion that we are going to
d erive no end of benefi t from them never get into ,

the bl ood at al l ei ther because they disturb the

,

d igestive functi o ns ,
or because we negl ec t to
l ive com mon se nse lives
-
, an d expect the drugs
themselves to work m i racles wi thout any aid
from ourselves .

White hair is o ften l o vely and frequently lends

,

an add ed charm to a face . This is the reas on why

powdered hair is al m o st univ ersally becoming a ,

fact whi ch is very noticeabl e at a bal p ou d re

'

or in l ooking at a c o ll ecti o n o f Rococco m i n iatures .

I t is i mpossible that al l t he women c o uld have

be e n beautiful in those days yet they all , s eem to
have been beauties .

S til l however becoming silvery l ocks may be

, ,

none of us quite l ike seeing the fi rst grey hairs nor , ,

what is stil l m o re heart ren ding the pretty tints and

-
,
I IZ ’
BEAU T Y CU LT URE .

the gleam and gloss fading whilst we are yet in the

blo o m of womanhood When this occurs or when
.
,

the hair “
falls ou t in hand fuls — as a woman told,

me piteously o n e day with tears in her big brown , ,

eyes — it means on e o f four things either—want o f ,

nourish ment to the roots want of s ti mulant to the ,

roots want , of cleanl iness to the scalp ,

or want of

ventilation to the hair .

Fo r hair that is greasy or requires a stimul ant ,

many of the l o tions containing spirits of wine ,

which is the basis of a large majority of hair

washes may be used with advantage
, ; but hair
i nclined to s cu rfin es s must never be touched with
things of this description ,
or the m ischief will
.

merely be aggravated .

When the hair is naturally d ry and fluffy it

should n ot be washed with soda ; but fo r blonde ,

golden ,
or chestnut hair i f at all inclined to
, greasi
ness a small l ump
,
of soda and a little l iquid
ammonia is al most essential because they i mpart ,

gloss and d ryness to it . D ark hair of a si milar

nature should be washed with a small quantity of

borax in the water . I t is better n ot to use soap in

washing the head ,
because it is so seldom
 TH E HA I R AND ITS B EAU T Y . 1 13

thorou gh l y rinsed out of t he long hair and often ,

renders i t stick y . The yolk of an egg beaten Up in

a pin t of water to which the bo rax , soda or ,

ammonia ,
has been ad ded according to the colour
,
!

and character of th e hair ,

is far bett er . B ut t hos e

soa p m ad e fro m the yolks o f egg s

, , is fa r s uperior
to any oth er for this purpos e .

It is al s o a good p l an to rub some l emon j uice -

into the scal p before washing it ,

if the hair is
in clined to be ei ther cl am my or sc u rfy
By the way a s mal l , t o o th m m b shoul d never be
us ed to clear away scurf ; a hard b rus h an d a sharp
comb shoul d als o be ca re ful ly avoided . They only
scratch t he scal p which irritates
, it, and in cre ase s

Personal ly I am not a grea t ad vocate of hair

,

was hin g at home un l ex you have a very ex ,

~

e rien ced maid to do it and every convenien ce fo r

p ,

d oing i t well . It is far be t ter , in the maj ori ty of

e
ca s s , to go to a good haird r esser an d let him do it

su re you mak e him dry i t thorou hl y by g

,
m éh hg
the scalp b fore he toasts your lo n g hair wi th the
,
e

H
I I4 BEAU T Y CU L T URE .

patent machine that invariably reminds me of an

i mproved up - to date d utch oven
- -
. O therwise you ,

will probably su ffer from a form of nervous or

rheu matic pain in the back of the head afterwards .

I n Paris the E nglish method

, of shampooing has
come largely into fashion and several , of the
biggest houses there have imported E ngl ishmen to
carry it o ut for their lady clients -
. The French

method of shampooing is done with o ut wetting the

hair or head at all . B oth are saturated with a
spiritous l otion ,
and then m assaged with the
thumbs until the whole has evaporated . Whilst
this operation is going o n it is , , of c o urse abs o l ut ely
,

necessary to keep away from the fi res and lights in

case of ignition . Ap ropos i f afte r washing the
, ,

hair you want to dry it quickly you will fi nd it a

, ,

good plan to r ub in some eau de cologne or pure - -

spirits of wine and then brush it

,
or sha k e it ab out
in the ai
r .

To k eep t he hair fair a n d flu ffy without in any ,

way inj u r ing it you m ay rub in the following wash

, ,

with the i t ip S rof the fi ngers daily , . I t is al ways

b etter to manipulate the head wi th the fi ngers
rather than a sponge or rag of any kin d b ecau se ,
 TH E HA I R AND I T S BEAU TY . I I5

the fin ger
-
ti ps transmit a certain am oun t of an imal
elect ricity in to whatever they touch ,
so that a
lotion thus appl ied is doubly beneficial .

g .
oz . powdered carbonate o f sod a .

é oz . bi borate
-
of s od a .

I fl oz . . . of eau d e cologne
- -
.

3 oz . of r ectified spirit of wine .

oz . tinctu re of cochineal .

1% pints of d is ti ll ed water .

A fter applying this brush and comb , the hai r

well for two or three minutes . Those who have
ash blonde hair and wish to prevent it d arkening
-
, ,

may wash it frequentl y with a sponge d ipped into

the following :

I tea -
cup o f warm water .

5 d ro ps o f eau d e col ogn e - -

.

The j uice o f h al f a lemon .

To preserve and revive the tin ts o f golden hair

’
S harp s D orina is an excellent in expen sive and , ,

perfect l y safe preparati on .

I 16 BEAU TY CU LT URE .

For dar k en ing the hair when it first begins to

’
l ose its colour a lotion ,
of C o n dy s fluid is some
times e ffi cacious ; but it is not well to u se it too
often .

1 pint strong cold tea .

1 pint rosemary tea .

’
2 teaspoonfuls C on dy s fluid .

This shou l d be applied to the roots of the hair

with a smal l sponge after washing or shampooing
in the ordinary way .

A wash which has been found in some cases to

arrest the falling o ut of the hair is

6 oz rose water
.
-
.

2 drms . borax .

1 % oz . glycerine .

B ut ,
of course as I have before remarked the hair
, ,

falls from various causes and what may cure , on e

case might be utterly ine ffectual in another .

“
I n what is known as the
‘

wine countries (in

“
contradistinction to the beer wines
 TH E HA IR AND IT S BEAU T Y
. I I7

frequen tly used bo th ,

fo r the hai r and the
complexion . I nd eed I am tol d that a rusty nail
, ,

steeped for a couple of weeks in a pint of good red

wine is a splen d id restorer for dark hair ; whilst
white win e may be empl o yed ad vantageo usly for
all the blonde shades ei ther with or wi thout the
,

nail according t o t he colour

, .

S ome people advocate the use of lem on jui ce in -

t he
'

which s a flron has been stee ped fo r restoring

ruddy tints which have bee n fashionable and are ,

o ft en very beauti ful ; but it has , t oo m any d isa d

“
vantages in my Opinion . I t is sticky in its eflect s ,

’
and eas il y brushes o ff ; m o reover it stains one s hat
,

lin ings horribly . A teaspoonful of coc hineal or

’
C on dy s fluid in the rinsing water after was hing
the hair is cleaner and equal ly e ffectual .

I t is a m istake to brush the hair t oo mu ch ,

es pec i all y if you have a sensiti ve scalp ; but on th e ,

other ban d , d o not negl ect to u se your brush and

comb m oderately for nothing shows more or l ooks
,

worse th an a badly groo med head -

. An other grea t
mistake is the habit of doing the hair int o
tight plaits or tw isting i t round wavers and curl ing
pins d urin g the night . D irectly yo u take it down ,
I 18 BEAU T Y C ULT U RE .

sh ake i t out thoro u ghly to al low the oxygen of the

atmosphere to pass amongst it and venti l ate it ,

and let it hang loosely d own your bac k al l night .

C urling irons if care fully used are less inj urious to

, ,

the hair than being cramped and bro k en by pins .

I k now cases in which premature greyness has

been the result of constantly putting the hai r in

pins at night . B esides , it is so unsightly ! My

sense of beauty is always hurt by the notion of a
woman n ot caring what sort o f a sight she l ooks
when she is in be d L et u s all t ry to be beautifu l
.

always n o matter whether anyone sees us o r n o t ;

, ,

beauty is never wasted and invariably exerts its

,

o wn influence i n some way on some o n e, even

though we may never know how or upon whom .

The hair being like a plant in character must be

, ,

treated as a plan t . Whilst the sap rises it grows ,

whilst the sap d escends it bleeds so to speak , .

This makes me fe el that there may be something ,

after all in the o l d fashioned idea that the hair

,
-

should a l ways be cut when the m oon is young .

I n many of the continental countries this idea is

i mpl icitly bel ieved and very strictly followed from
,

babyho od . Never forget too that the hai r

, , abs o
 TH E HA I R AND I T S B E AU T Y . 1 19

l ut el y requires food water , , air, and sunshine l ike ,

any other plant .

Person ally I have ,

n ot much liking for curl ing
fluid s ; but that is of course a m atter
, ,
of in dividu al
taste and indivi dual need . A few d rops of eau d e -

col ogn e and lemon j uice i n a wine lass -

g
of water ,

or a littl e s trong c o ld tea may be e ff ectu al ly em

pl oyed however
, , to d amp the hair before begin
n ing any method of curl ing .

With regard to dyes I s hall say very litt l e be ,

’
ca u se I don t approve of them . D yed hair is

occ asion ally very lovely in itsel f ; but it generally

betrays i tsel f to a close observer as unreal and i t ,

usually sh ows u p any defect in the complexion .

I ndeed dyeing the hair al most n ecessitates making

,

up the complexion ,
t oo , and unless both these oper
atio n s are mos t s ki lfully pe rform ed they fail to
'
’‘
express the ir ra zs on d etre, being in artistic and ,

therefore n ot beautiful .

E ye br o ws and eye las hes being

- -
, of the same
natu re as hair require , to be sim il arly treated .

O ne of the ve ry best things fo r making them grow

thick and s trong is that very inexpensive article
l anol ine ; but t hose who prefer something d aintier
1 20 B EAU T Y C UL T U RE .

’
in appearance will find Mason s C ream of Wool
’ ’
fat , S harp s C r eme Turque ,
L en théric s R os ée
O rk il ia, and various other simple preparations
positively harmless .

L et me warn you however to be m ost careful

, ,

not to apply dyes o r restorers to the eye lids and -

eye lashes Y ou never know in what way they

-
.

may affect the optic nerves and possibly injure the

sight either temporarily or e ven p ermanently .

N or do I advis e the practice of pencilling the eye

brows though this is one
,
of the most ancient
customs i n connection with the art of beauty .
 C H A PT ER V I I .

O N A GOO D C OMP L E X IO N AS A S O URCE O F

B EAU T Y .

T is beau
'
ty trul y b l t wh ose red a d whit
en , n e

N ature s o w sw t cun n in g han d lai d n

’
n ee o .
”

Le tkn wl ed g gr w fr m m r t m r
o e o o o e o o e,

r
An d m e oof r eren ce in
ev us d well ”
.

A GOO D complexion (like a good cook ) must be

born not made a very pretty woman one d ay
, ,

told me smilingly . H er o wn complexion is per

feet so is her h eal th th erefore she can a fford
, , to be
scepti cal no w ; but how l o ng will she keep her
l o veliness ? That is the main questi o n . I f we
woul d only realise that a good complexi on will n ot

stand the wear an d tear of life without a littl e

1 21
1 22 B EAU T Y CUL T URE .

hygienic help a little daily care we could retain

, ,

our beauty so much longer .

’
D iane de Poictiers who boasted to her l i fe s end
,

that she had never resorte

d to powder and paint ,

reigned as a beauty o f the first rank fo r a far

greater number of years than I should dare to
mention for fear ,
of being associated ever after in
“
the m inds of my readers with the honourable
member , about whom I heard a political orator
remark blandly when questioned as to the veracity
,

of some statement which had been made

“
Well ,
if I saw that gentleman walking
down Piccad illy arm -
in -
arm with A nanias and
S apphira I should consider h im in the bosom
,

of his family .

Whilst strongly deprecating the use of artificial

means ,
I am undoubtedly an advocate for a
common sense form -
of treatment for preserving
the complexion by means o f simple washes which ,

are not only harmless but beneficial to it , . We

do n ot expect ou r gowns or ou r boots to last for
ever why should we be so very unreasonable as to
,

expect o ur complexions to do so ? The great

point to decide is not—S hall we use anything ?
 COMP LEX IO N As A S O U RCE OF BEAU TY . 1 23

but Wha t shal l we

,
u se ? H aving al ready heard
something about the ne rvou s system , you will
readily understand how easily the eyesight the ,

hearing the taste

, ,
the s mell and eve n the brain
, ,

may be permanently i nj ured by the constant use

of powerful cosmetics . I cou l d mention scores of

l argely advertised toilet articles which , ,

on anal ysis ,

have proved th emselves to contain substances that

are injurious alike to the skin and the nerves yet ,

fool ish women wil l insist on using them under the

mistaken notion that they are rendering them
s elves beauti ful .

When shal l we as , a sex begin to understand

,

that nothing which i s palpably false can ever

be intrinsically beautiful .

No “
make -
up
”
is tolerable from the beauty
p o int of view unless it be so perfect
, as to be im
perceptible and how very, , v ery few women are
either skil ful enough to d o it to perfection , or

artisti c enough to be ann oyed by its i m perfecti o ns

i n their o wn cases though ready enough to
, re

cogn ise and comment upon the deficiencies (o r ,

’
more truly s uperfluities) of their friends com
,

p l ex i
on s .
1 24 BEAU T Y C UL T U RE .

H ow very pretty that woman is over in the

”
corner , I remarked to a man on e day at a certain
s mart function .

“ ’
Y es but it s all enamel and peroxide o f
”
hydr ogen ,
he replied sententiously and on close r
inspection it proved to be so .

’
Well why shouldn t it be enamel and peroxide
,

of hydro gen so l ong as the ej
quired a leading lady j ournal ist
tive art like ,
’ ”
, ect is there ? in
’
. I t s all decora
our hats and gowns our feathers and ,

furbelows .

“
D ecorative art ? Oh ,
yes ; quite so like a ,

portrait in Oils ,
or a panel in water colou rs ; but ,

does anybody ever care to kiss enamel ?

’ ”
A h ! that s quite another thing , she answered
“ ’
laughingly . E namel isn t meant to be kissed ; it
”
might crack you know , .

“
The fashion of making up the face is a very
Old fashion and ,
on e that never changes except in ,

the question Of degree . S o metimes it is more

fashionable at other times it is less so ; nowadays
,

we are striving to drive it out o f the fi eld by s ub

s t itu t in g hygienic treatment that will render it

unnecessary .
 C OMP LEX IO N As A S O U RCE OF B EAU TY . 1 25

The C haldean women used to paint thei r faces

’
and d arken their eyes ages ago so did Pharaoh s ,

daughter and the women of ancient E gypt .

H omer poet and philosopher recom mended a

, ,

face wash to Penelope when she began to look

-

”
faded and washed out ,
and I hope she u sed it
instead of resorting to rouge and enamel ; but the
’ ’

s tz bz u m was com monly used in Greece to increase

the apparent size of the eyes .

I n R ome the statues of al l the gods were painted

to resemble l ife and this custom spread fi rst to the
,

“ ”
m ilitary conquerors in their triumphs , and lat er
on to the w o men who aspired to conquests Of

another nature . They used oxide of lead to whiten

their skin ( and no d oubt many o f the poor things
had lead palsy o r d ied o f lead poisoning and won
- -

d ered how th ey got it D; vermilion supplied their

false roses ; blue outlined their veins and bl ack °

“ “
shadowed their eyes and pointed their eye
brows . A r o se col o ured salve tinted their lips
-

and od orous sweetmeats scented their breath .

Poor dears ! H ow tir ed they must have be en

befo re they got to the end of th eir painting
processes
 1 26 BEAU TY CU LT URE .

It is interesting also , ,
to hear that even in the
present d ay the culture of beauty according
, to

various codes is carried ,

on both by men and
women even amongst the most uncivilised tribes .

No Tartar woman can be considered beautiful u n

less she has a broad ring o f orange yellow round -

her eyes so she constantly uses a c o mpound o f

,

g o o se fat alum and various balsams to produce

-
, ,

this e ffect . S ome of the squaws i n Weste rn

A merica use I am told the j uices
, , of vari o us wild
plants to paint the mse l ves with designs in blue and
yellow ; whilst t he A rabs of A lgeria make them
selves more beautiful (in their o wn particular style )
by empl oying unguents the chief c o nstituents o f ,

which are Oil aromatic gum burnt sugar and

, , ,

pounded walnut shells ; and Japanese ladies gild

their C herry lips for the same purpose .

Those i mbued with puritanical principles will

naturally argue from this that sinful vanity is a vice
inherent to hu man nature wherever it may be found ; ,

but looked at i mpartially and from a prosaic

, ,

practical point of view , on e feels i nclined to ask

[s a wholesome amount of vanity a vice either ,

in man or woman ? A t the risk of appear

 C OMP LEX IO N AS A SO U R C E O F BEAU T Y . 1 27

in g hopel es sly i mpious ,

I m ust honestly con fes s
that it is in my opinion a mu ch t o—
be admir ed - -

v irtue, except when carried to an abnormal

extent .

H e r mits of Ol d thought themselves very holy

’
becaus e they li ved in caves and didn t wash t hem
s elves . M any peo ple to this day account it
righteo usn es s to mar the beau ti e s that have been
bestowed u pon th e m others (like the Pharis ee in ;
the N ew Tes tament) than k God that they are n o t
as o ther women wh o wear flow e rs and fril ls cluj on
’

, ,

’ '

and t ri e ae
p e/
a fl e, d ainty hats and the neatest
,
of

footgear . Person ally it puzzles me to fi nd

,
out

wherein lies the piety of slove nliness neglect o f ,

hygiene hideous headgear

, , bad l y m ad e
~
clothes ,
or

boots squar e t and heel l ess

-
.

L ookin g at things fro m this point of view

cau ses one to sm ile and m urmur al mos t sorrow
fu l ly :

”
“
This is a mad world my m asters , ! S om e
great phil osopher has ind eed in form ed us that each
one Of us is mad on some parti cul ar point ; that
being the cas e beauty is ev idently , my wea k point .

A nyhow it is a pleas ant form

, of madness tak in g ,
 1 28 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

it on the whole which is more than can be said for

,

all the crazes we come across .

B u t, before desc ending to the frivol ities of face

washes and such like vanities let me tell you how ,

to wash yourselves properly . There is a right

way and a wrong way to perform the facial
abl utions and most people choose the latter from
,

pure ignorance .

Take a basin of
tepid water (which you have
previously softened ) dip your face and hands into
,

it ; then cover your hands with soap o r whatever ,

substitute yo u may be using and thoroughly rub

,

you r face all over tak ing care to get into every
,

curve and crevice ; after which rinse it thoroughly

with your hands to ru b ou t tlie s oap aga in ; finally
sponge it in cl ea n wa ter and dry it gently
, on a
soft flu ffy towel . Then apply your tonic or

emollient l otion and pass a piece

, of wash leather-

over your face directly it has d ried in to take O ff ,

any shiny appearance . A mongst women who are

normally healthy four d ifferent kinds, of com
p l ex io ns are to be distinguished
 C O M P LEX IO N AS A S O U RCE OF BEAU T Y . 1 29

I The greasy skin

. .

2 . The d ry skin .

3 . The long (or flabby ) skin .

4
. T he short ( or tight) sk in .

and each of these requires i ts o wn d istin ctive

treatment .

A greasy skin is caused by an undue secretion

of Oily matter by the sebaceous glands ; therefore
this kind of ski n cannot be washed too often and ,

some good pure soap should be used on i t at least

twice daily . B ut, before going further let m e say ,

a few words with regard to soaps for the face .

M ore complexions are marred by cheap soap than

by anyth ing else . N ever u se i t under any circu m
stances whatever . U nless a soap is super fatted -

i t i nvariably harm s the skin .

S oap l ik e many other things is a question

, ,

Of taste and any pure uncoloured soap may

, ,

be empl oyed . The P o merov skin soap i s ex -

cel l en t ; so are s o me of th o se m an u a ct u red by

~

the S outhern D rug C o and the . V in o l ia Co ,

.

also many o thers . A greasy complexion always

requires an as tring en t wash after washing , ou r
1 30 BEAU T Y CU LT UR E .

object being to gradually render the texture

fi ner by c l osing the pores and r educing the ,

over activity -
of the sebaceous glands ; where
the greasiness is very pronounced i t is a g o od
plan to empl oy the Pomeroy astringent lotion
regularly . This quality of complexion calls also
for a careful diet and plenty of Open air
-
ex er

cise . D ry powder is a thing that must also

be strenuously avoided and nothing bu t liqu id ,

rouge is ad missible either . The powder mix

ing with the exuding o il si n ks into the pores ,

and not only fills them b ut causes them to

gradually expand ,
thus making the evil grow
worse ; whilst on a hot day it Often causes a
“ ”
general streaky appearance that is ,
n ot exactly
beautifu l or artistic . A bag of toilet oatmeal
and a few sl ices of lemon kept in your water
j ug is also benefi cial ; and glycerine must be
carefully avoided or blac k head s wi l l be the
resul t .

L ong or flabby skins require soap every d ay ,

too . They easily become furrowed and wrinkled ,

so o ur obj ect i n treating these must be to tone

them up I nstead o f p utting lemon o r eau de
.
-
 C OMP LEXIO N AS A S O U RCE O F B EAU T Y . 1 31

cologne into the washing water we substitute ,

slices of cucu mber , or melon and keep sachets

, of

iris root (n ot orris root ) in the toilet j ug and u s e

- -
,

’
J une s H ealth S al t in the daily tub B athing i t .

for ten m inutes i n tepid m ilk and water too is

’
good ,
and above al l things don t omit to use
some go o d skin tonic each time after washing , .

Take care to have a warm bath twice a week ,

and a tepid or sponge bath every m o rning .

Let your fo od be nourishing and d igestibl e ;

’
m ind that you take enough exercise ; and d o n t
forget to give y o ur skin plenty of oxyg en by ,

l iving and sle eping i n wel l ventilat ed ro o ms -

. A
good wrinkle lotion m ay be applied twice
-
or

thri ce a d ay with a tiny sp o nge ; but d ry

po wder is prohibited because it frequently hangs
'

in the wrinkles and l o oks inartisti c

, .

D ry skins r e quire ,
on the c o ntrary a d iffer ,

ent m ode of treatment . O atmeal should never

be us ed fo r them and soap only once a we e k
, ,

with warm water at bed t ime . I nstead of soap

keep som e yol k of egg on your washing stand -
,

put a l ittl e into the pal m of your hand and ,

s mear it over your face ‘

. If yo u beat up a fresh
1 32 B EAU T Y CU LT URE .

yolk with two teaspoons of water and keep it in

,

a well stoppered bottle it wi ll last severa l days

-
, .

Then rinse the face d ry i t carefully and apply the

, ,

’
Dewp erl ia Wash L en théric s R os ée O rk ilia
, ,
or the
Pomeroy liquid powder as a safegu ard against the ,

d rying influence of the sun and air . Whenever

the least roughness or irritation is apparent some ,

V in o l ia C ream may be rubbed in with good re

s u l t s, for there is nothing m ore soothing and

heal ing .

S hort skins generally l ook d rawn and tight which ,

shows that they are deficient in elasticity and supple

ness . Fo r this kind of complexion soap is not
, ne

ces sary m ore than once i n ten days but the face ,

should be frequently steamed and massaged . I t has

usually a great tendency to cracking and roughness ,

but it seldom wrinkles . A very s mall quantity Of

s o me good cream should be thoroughly rubbed
in and the n wiped
,
O ff again with a bit of C ham ois
leather and a,
s ou pg on either of the best powder ,

’
or R immel s toilet oatmeal dusted over it before ,

going o ut into the air . People with d ry skins or

tight skins should avoid as much as possible any , ,

d rying influence such as east wind the burning

, ,
 Co MLE P x ION AS A S O U RC E OF BEAU T Y . 1 33

heat of the sun , or the scorching of a hot fi re and ,

they shoul d also be most careful never to wash the

face either i mmed iately before going out o r after
coming in . I ndeed this is bad, fo r any k ind Of

skin and , so are all sudden changes Of tem perature .

When the face feels burn t or rough most people

will fi nd rel ief from bathing i t for ten m inutes i n
warm m il k with a teaspo o n ful of rose water in
-

it .

A l l complexions , of whatever kind need to be ,

fed , moreover , n ot only with ne rve force good ,

blood and plen ty

,
oxygen but also with a fat o f
of ,

’
some kind . E ither Pomeroy S kin F ood M ason s ,

Wool fat C r eme O rchid ée

-
, ,
or something of this
description shoul d be used once or twice a week .

B ut d o not merely s mear any on e of these

things on , and l eave your face reek ing with it .

Take a s mall quanti ty and rub it i n for five ,

or six m inutes round and round with the palms

of the hands . O f cou rse , y o u must use the
tips Of your fi ngers round the eyes and where ,

there are wrinkles or furrows to be eradi cated

always ru b across t/zem . When the Operation is
fi nished take a bit of soft linen
,
or fi ne flannel
I 34 BEAU TY CU LT URE .

and wipe O ff every particle of grease that has

’
n ot been absorb ed ; and don t upon any account , ,

use powder when mak ing you r night toilet ,

which by the way is quite as important from

, , ,

the beauty point of view as your day toilet

,
.

E very woman who i s wise wi ll pay attention

to the needs of her complexion at bed tim e -
,

because the night i s the peri o d when N ature is

most able to repair the ravages o f ti me and C ircu m
stance . N aturally you will al l understand th at
,

the face must be washed in tepid water before you

apply you r cream otherwise the pores being full
, ,

of dirt and oily m atte r will be u nable

, to absorb
it .

L et me however warn
, , yo u to study your s k in
“
( and not to choose its food hastily or casually ) ,

be aring in m ind a fe w general rules . Many of the

cold cream s s o l d turn fair skins yell ow ; prepara
tions containing glycerin e often produce black
heads and are fatal to s o me complex ions
,
creams
containing bismuth whiten any sk in , but are
d eleterious in the long vaseline is too d rying
”

run

for most people ; moreover it and lanoline being , ,

specifics to make hair grow are not exactly suited ,

 C OMP LEX IO N AS A S O U RCE OF BEAU T Y . 1 35

’
to feminine faces . D on t be persuaded to use
either am monia borax , ,
or toilette V inegars as
water softeners for constant facial use
-
. They
are n ot good for the sk in no m atter how much ,

they may be advertised ; and never u se any

preparation of any sort merely because some
on e else r ecom mends i t to you I t may be .

j ust the right thing for that parti cular person ,

but just the wron g thing for you . There is

n o universal panacea fo r the compl e xion since ,

each complexion has its o wn idiosyncrasies , its

own special “
points ,
and its o wn particular
deficiencies . The simpler the p r
eparation the
more likely it is to be e fficacious i f used rationally ,
.

There is n o advantage gained by using a toilet article

’
1
that is merely harmless . We want someth ing
that is oen e
ficial . We want unguents that are feed
ing toning stimulating soothing as the case may
, , , ,

be but unless we choose carefully we may get

,

h o ld o f j ust the wrong kind of thing and mak e

,

matters w o rse . A course Of facial m assage now and

again is a capital treatment fo r m ost compl exions
but you must be very careful i n ch oo sing your
masseuse for should i t be performed in an
,
nu
 1 36 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

s k illed perfuncto ry style it causes the s k in to be

, ,

come ba ggy and wrink l ed instead ,

of rendering i t
firm and fresh .

A t this end -
o f- a- centu ry m ost of us n o matte r
,

“
what o ur position in l ife may be are ,
wor k ing
”
women , in the most l iteral sense of the term .

This means that we Often fi nd ourselves fagged

ou t by night fall -
,
and are yet due at some
dinner or evening fun ction that demands our

l ooking and feeling at ou r very best . N ow , I

“
can tell you of a refresher that i s not by any
means to be despised under these trying circum
stances .

Get a basin Of boil ing water and , p ut a tea

’
S p o on ful of j une s H ealth S alt into it hold your ,

j aded features over the basin and thr o w a towel ,

’

over you r head to keep in the steam . C lose your

eyes and never m ind if you feel like suffo cating
, .

A t the end of fi ve minutes tak e some clean tepid

water wash you r face i n your usual manner and
, ,

rinse i t fi nally in clean cold water with a l ittle eau

de -
colog ne or eau d e N inon i n i t for three
- -
, or

four m inu tes . Then d ry it tie a sil k handkerchief

,

across your eyes and lie d own , on you r oacl r for

 CO M P LEXIO N AS A SO U RCE OF BEAUT Y . 1 37

dres se d apply an
, as rit nge nt lotion , an d sm ooth

tim e you will f ed an d l ook a differen t woman

ten yea rs younger , in fact ; i t is surprising how this
s impl e prom sm ooths out the tired l in s from
t h e brain as well as fm m t h e face an d re s to res t he

vital ity to the min d as well as the bo dy . B ut

rem embe r t hat t he cold rins ing and th e as tringen t

ap p lia t ion f terward s are a n e ces sary pa rt of the

a

and make s it l ook m ore wrin kl ed unl es s you d o

so me a to brac e it u p aga in . By the way never ,

use a l oo fah or any kin d of was hing gl ove for

your fac e ; the h ands are far better fo r Il a} pu rp os e ,

condu cive to be auty ,

if taken in m oderation ; bu t

you m ust be care ful to l ook after your compl exion

a l i ttle
. I n countries where the su n rs ve ry
bu r nin g the wom en
, o f all cl as ses adopt vario u s
1 38 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

expedients for obviating its d isfiguring effects . In

N aples everybody goes about with a thick coating
,

Of powdered starch on the face . I n H ungary ,

women of the upper classes s mear themselves with

white of egg beaten to a sti ff froth and covered ,

b y a s l ight dusting O f powder before they ven ,

ture on a l ong ride or d rive . I n R ou mania ,

where melons and cucumbers are as plentifu l

as blackberries , they u se the fresh j urce of

these fruits with great effect . I know E nglish

women who find fresh cream on e of the best
preventives against sunburn ; but fresh cream is
n ot a l ways handy .

I n any sort of violen t exercise t here is also

another thing to conte nd with and that is per ,

spiration . The particles Of d ust and d irt in the

atmosphere are caught by the perspiration and
block the pores of the skin un l ess it is re

m oved . B lackheads are often induced by this

as wel l as by in eflicien t ablutions . H owever ,

women with d ry or tight skins cannot be

constantly washing themselves with wa ter . L et
me advise them therefore to get the follow
, ,

ing recipe made u

p ,
and d ab the face with it
 C O MP LEX IO N AS A SO UR C E O F BEAU TY I 39
.

bo th before an d aft er ta k in g exer cis e of

energ etic nat ure

4 oz of el d erflower water
. .

2 oz . of fresh cucum ber j uice .

Fo r tho s e who are al ready afflicted wi th blac k

h ea ds the best pl an is
, to bathe the face for ten
minu tes in hot water with su b- carbonate of s oda
in it
. This opens the po res and so ftens the scarf
skin . Then squeez e ou t t he obj ect ionable l i t tl e
black points ,
and apply an as tringent lotion
afterward s to clos e the pores . A little em ol

l ient crea m is excellent to hea l and s oothe

any sym pto m o f in flamm ation attend ing the
o perati on . By the way n o tonic or
,
a s ri
t ngent
remed y shoul d ever be appl ied to a face that
is full of acne or blackheads be cause ,
it on l y
tightens the po res and renders it more d ilfi
cult to get rid of them .

A n excellent l o tion for acne in this stage has

be en given to m e by a d octor
1 40 BEAU T Y C U L TU RE .

18 grs sub carbonate Of soda

.
-
.

2 oz . distilled water .

2 oz . rose water -
.

2 drs essence
. of l avender .

B efo re applying this ,

o
y u must bathe the face
thoroughly i n lzot water ; the n rub it round the
blackheads . A fter they are gone ,
use an
astringent l otion several times daily to close the
pores com pl etely, and thus prevent their re- appear
ance .

A celebrated German skin doctor recom m end s -

for acne a salve made from

d rachm Oil of cad e .

I oz . prepared l ard .

This is to be rubbed in at night on l y .

H eat lu mps
-
or gnat bites -
on the face often itch
intolerably . Fo r this there is nothing better than
a lotion Oi
 C O M P LEX IO N As A S O U RCE OF BEAU T Y . 14 1

1
; oz . rose water -
.

é oz . eau d e col ogn e

- -
.

I d rm sulphate o f zin c
. .

Or ,

1
3, d rms chl oride . of am monia .

I oz d isti l led water

. .

oz . rose water -
.

Pimples on the face , too , are very troubleso m e ,

an d most unsightly . These are , of course ,

g eneral ly d ue either to constipation ind igesti o n , ,

poo rn ess of bl ood ,

or som e other consti tutional
cause and cannot therefore be cured by any l ocal
,

appl ication . The skin i s real ly making an e ff o rt

by this m eans to throw O ff impurities . S ometi mes
pimples are ind uced by want of scrupul o us cl ean li

ness either o f the face or the other parts o f the body ;

sometimes it is want of pure air , or neglect of

regu lar exercis e , or u nwholesome diet ; and in these

cases stri ct attention to these points will erad icate
the and the ej ect will then natural ly vanish
ca us e, .

I f a functional derangement o f any other organ is

the cause then it is bes t to consult a d octor
, .
142 BEAU TY CU L T URE .

S ometi mes a tonic will cure them ; at other times

a tonic will bring them o ut . I n fact pimples are ,

most bewildering and horribly annoying

,
. S till ,

you can cover them up to a great extent by

using the Pomeroy L iquid Powder which ,
in

s tan t l y imparts an undetectable natural white

ness to the sk in , that does n ot rub o ff, is
absolutely harmless under any circu mstances and ,

has b een proved to be most beneficial to that

eruptive condition ,
r esul ting from a gouty or

eczematous tend e ncy ,

which shows itsel f by
pimples u n der the skin . S cars m ay als o be
rendered al most ,
or quite i mperceptibl e by several
,

applications ; but it must be allowed to dry in

thoroughly each ti me before another coating is put
on , o r it will be sticky .

S all owness of c o mplexion a de fect which s o

,

“ ”
many o f us fi nd m o st trying to ou r personal
and particular style of beauty is generally the
,

result of a sluggish liver which may be either ,

constitutional or merely the result of ho t weather

or overheated and badly ventilated living and -

sleeping rooms . I n these cases diet and active ,

exercise are the fi rst requisites . I ndeed no go od ,

 C OM P LEX IO N As A SO U RCE OF B EAU TY . 1 43

ca n be done by any ext ern al app l i ca tion until

these two points have been attended to . S all ow
co mpl exion s and constipation us u a l ly go together ,

s o the great thin g is to remove the fo rmer by

relieving th e latter . A void rich foods eat plen ty ,

of fruit and ve g e tabl es and take a cascara sagrad a

,

tablet every other day un til the const i pation is

entirely removed . F resh stra wberry j uice is a
d e lici o us and m ost e ffectual remedy fo r sal l o wn ess ;

fail ing this h o wever there is lemon j uice elder

, ,
-
,

fl ower water or lime water wi th a few d rops o f

-
,

eau d e colo ne in i t and rose water or orange

- -
g ,
-

flo wer wate r ,
with a fe w spots of simple tincture of

benzoin . Prepar ed oatm ea l rubbe d carefully on

“
to the face and then rolled o ff is excellent .

Tomato j uice , or lemon jui ce and rose water are

- -

al so benefi cial fo r beauti fying a sallow com

plexion . M any of
t o ilet preparati o ns s o ld
t he

fo r this purpose con tain bismu t h or o ther in ,

gred ien ts of a si mil ar k ind which effect thei r

-

pu rpose very rapidly but d o not help in p re ,

s erving beauty o f complexion becaus e they are ,

inj uri ous to t he s k in i n the long run .

F rec kl es a re o f two kinds

1 44 BEAU T Y CU LT URE .

“
I C onstitutional (arising from
. l iverishness
2 . O ccasional (arising from the action of the
sun ) .

The latter are absolutely prevented by using a

sk in food at n ight and a l otion by day . The
fo rmer will require medical aid to disperse
them .

5 oz . of distilled water .

}
I T oz . lemon or strawberry j uice .

I 5 grs borax . .

is a good lotion . You will also fi nd that the

Pomeroy skin p u rifier is an excellent remedy
-

”
against these sun kisses
-
.

I pint elder flower water -

.

2 oz . lemon or strawberry j uice .

2
5 oz eau de cologne
.
- -
.

is another good o ld recipe ; but this does not

suit skins of an i nflammatory or eruptive
nature .
 Co M
P LEx I O N AS A S O UR C E OF B E AU TY . 1 45

E au d e L is ,
made fro m the genuine recipe
’
used by the l ovely N in on d e L En cl o s , the beauti
fu l Lo l a M o ntez , an d the beauties of the co u rt of

C harl es I I . of E ngl and is a s oo thing wash which

,

’
prevents wr i nk l es and crow s feet obviates und ue -
,

flushing ,
keeps the sk in fresh and smoo th ,

’
and is inval uable i n ho t c l imates . L en t héric s

L a it Tz fl toret
'

i s equ al ly to be recom mended for

t hose who p i
n the ir fait h on Paris i an a rticl es de

toilette . Th ese t hings are a ft er all ra th er a matter , ,

of individ ual tas te and it ,

is j ust as wel l to let our
littl e prej udi ces on these points govern ou r choice
of any pa rticul ar article .

B ut in treating our c o mplexions l et us all bear

i n mind a few general ideas wi th regard to the
gfi
'

ed s of various remed ies so as to gu ard a ain st ,

g

treating them on wr o ng lin es .

M ilk bran oatm eal

, , ,
cream starch melon
, , or

cucu mber j uice and a ll em o llient l otions are s kin

, ,

so ft eners and should therefore only be used for

,

dry or t ight sk ins except , in cas es of s unburn ,

roughness etc , .

S al t tomato
, ,
or s trawberry j uice wine alcoho l, , ,

to il et v inegars eau d e c o logn e and all washes

,
- -
, of
x
1 46 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

an astringent nature are ton ics suitable only to

greasy or loose skins .

L emon benzoin (the s imp l e tincture and v ery

,

much d iluted ) may be used i n moderation fo r most

kinds o f skins and a Turkish bath either by means
, ,

of the Pomeroy apparatus or the Parisian V apor

iser is und ou b tedly benefi cial to every face both
, ,

from the health and beauty point Of view . We

mu st choose o ur toilet requisites as we choose our

gowns , via , to suit ou r o wn ind ividual ities if they ,

are to be successful .

“
The eyes have been poetically styled , The
”
windows Of the soul This expression i s of ten a
.

literal truth ; sometimes however it is an Obvious

, ,

l ie . We al l have eyes ,
bu t some of us are un

fortunately devoid Of soul therefore the windows

,

are merely blanks they may be beauti ful i n shap e

and colour large in size yet if the latent fi re
, ,
of

soul ful expression be wanting they lose hal f their

e ffect and even the loveliest and most expression
,

ful of eyes lose hal f their fascination when they

are red tired , ,
or i nflamed . H ere again straw , ,

ber ry j uice -
l mon
, e j
~
u ice, and eau de cologne diluted
- -

with water come in usefully , ; so d oes sal t and

 CO MP LEX IO N AS A SO URCE O F B E AU T Y
. 1 47

water tepid m il k and camom ile tea

, , ; but never be
persu ad ed into brightening your eyes by d roppin g

be l l adonn a or eau —
de cologne into them -
. I t is a m ost
d angerous practi ce and bl indness ,
is al most certain
to be the resul t if this be com es a frequent habit .

T ired eyes may be relieved greatl y by bat hing

them in warm water containing a few d rops of
boracic acid and rose water . S tyes on the eye
m ay so metimes be dis per sed by us ing a l otion of

4 oz d ist i ll ed water
. .

oz bi carbonate o f sod a
.
-
.

I f the eyes water on ex posure to a st rong light ,

seve re cold or a sharp wind they should be bathed

, ,

wi th a l oti on of bo ra ci c acid ,
or a weak d ecoction
of poppy heads
-
. The foll o wi ng pres cripti o n given ,

to me by an Ol d F ren ch l ady is also considered

,

very soo thin g an d stren gt hen ing fo r th e eyes

when they have t his tenden cy .

4 gram mes pure boraci c a cid .

5 hyd ro l ate of ch erry laurel .

1 00

10 al coho l o f montpel ier .

148 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

M ix a dessertspo o nful of this l otion with an

equal amount of warm water and bathe the eyes ,

with a bit of fi ne sponge three or four times daily .

I f the eyes are in a iro/zic

c/ condition of

wateriness they require a more astringent l otion

, ,

and I append a prescription ; bu t i t is always

wiser to let an ocul ist see them . The eye is such
a del icate organ and good sight is so precious to
,

all of us that se l f treatment is a l ways to be

,
-

deprecated .

I 7;} grs sulphate o f zinc

. .

}
5 oz . distilled water .

1
2
; O z . eau de cologne
- -
.

A fte r the inflam m ation has subsided ,

or when
the eyes are weak bathing them night and morn
,

ing with a tonic lotion of

4 oz . rose water .

oz . eau de cologne
- -
,
or rect fi
i ed
spirits of wine .

will be fo und very strengthen ing .

 C O MP LE XI O N AS A SO UR CE O F B E AU T Y . 1 49

Be most ca reful what you us e on the eyebrows

and eyel as hes to mak e them grow or get thick er .

L anoline is excel lent for this pu rpose and quite ,

inn ocuou s . Do not m ake u p your e yes ex cept ,

for stage purpos es . I t is bad form and requ ires a

,

t hi ck veil to mak e them l ook even pas sabl e by day

light by the elect ric l ight the effe ct is ghastly and ,

its fi ciality
arti is not to be conceal ed . There a re

occas i o ns when j ust the merest s ou p gofl of rouge is

perm is sible , if very sk il full y appli ed ; but m o st

women mak e a fatal m is take when us in g powder
and paints . They overdo it by putting on t oo mu ch ;
t hey omit to put i t on j ust where N ature intended
them to ha ve those particul ar t ints of rose and
l il y, beca use instea d ,
of studying the n atu ral t ints
of thei r o wn faces , they put it on whe rever th ey
”
fan cy it wil l look wel l . N ow this is a foo l ish
plan because it
,
gives them away at once . A
tinge of rouge j ust nea r the cheek bone enha n ces
the beauty of the eyes m arve l lously wi thou t giving
them that un natu ral expre sion which ch arcoal len ds s

to the face . I t is only I rishwomen who can boas t

“
that N ature put in their eyes wi th a s mu tty
finger .
1 50 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

The most restful col ours for the eyes are blue
and green ; violet i s also very soothing to the
nerves . R ed is blinding and white is most trying
, .

O n this account it is very bad fo r the beauty of

the eye to read in bed ,

or to write by the l ight Of
an u nshaded lam p . S taring at the fi re , or doing
a great deal Of fi ne needlework is also m o st
fatiguing to the Optic nerves S trawberry juice
w
.
,

or lemon j uice mixed ,

ith equal parts of water ,

is excellent as a tonic l o tion for the eye . A few

drops of eau de cologne drunk i n a tu mbler
- -
of

water is a splend id beauty potion ,

so far as the eye
i s concerned ; but i f it be repeated t oo often i t
loses all its e ffi cacy .

There is however nothing more destructive to

, ,

the beauty of the eye ,

or clearness of vision than ,

dyspepsia and chron ic diseases ,

or derangements
of those nerves and organs that appertain specially
to the feminine organisation and ,
no l ocal treat
ment of any kind can possibly be e fficacious in
rem o ving defects that arise from these causes .

Yo u must go to the root of the matter and rem o ve

,

the ca u se can get rid Of the ej ect A

before yo u .

red nose is frequently the result o f similar de

 C O MP LE XIO N AS A S O U RCE O F B E AU T Y . 151

rangements too and must

, , ,
of course be dea l t with
,

in a sim il ar m anner . The nose be ing , on e o f the

m ost pr o minent features of the face has necessarily ,

a good deal to d o with its general characte r ; there

fore a n os e that is chroni cal ly
, red detracts greatly
fi om the beau ty of the lovelies t face .

B ut rednes s of nose may be d ue to other causes

than those mentioned and a fo r m of trea tmen t
,

that would pe rmanentl y cure thi s blemish in on e

cas e might be perfectl y usel ess in another

, . I f it
be d ue merely to d ryn ess of th e n asal duct , or

abnorm al sensiti veness of the capill ary vessels i t ,

is not d i fficult to e ffect a cure ; indeed i t may be ,

set perm anently right by using the foll owing loti on

for it night and morn ing al lowing it to d ry on to,

the s kin . D iss ol ve

45 grs bo rax
. .

oz o range flo wer water

{
1 .
-
.

1 oz rose water
’ -
. .

Wh en a red nose is prod uced by chronic

conges tion n asal catarrh o r any other unheal thy
, ,

condition of th e nostril , the bes t re m ed y is

1 52 B EAU T Y CU L T U R E .

frequent bathing with flat water and a subsequent

,

application of lemon j uice -

or eau de cologne to
- -

C
lose the pores afterwards .

A n I mpaired circulation as the resul t , of tight

corsets , tight boots or gloves heavy clothing
,

hanging fr o m the hips and headgear that is heavy ,

or tight may prod uce redness

,
of the n ose the ,

hands and the arms

, ; or it may be the result of a
weak or d iseased heart . A constitutional tendency
to scrofula any ,
of the various fo rm s of i ndigestion ,

or even moderate indulgence in wine (where the

constitution does not properly assi milate alcohol ) ,

are also producti v e O f purplish tints on the nose and

cheeks . S ometi mes coffee will produce the sam e
results whilst ,
a wan t of s tim u l a n ts m ay in o ther
,

cases be the producing agent Of this unpl easant

,

symptom . H ere ,
of course the mode , of treat
ment i s Obvious . E radicate the cause and yo u ,

“ ”
wil l necessarily eradicate its very unbeautiful
effects .

R est after meals wholesome d iet and j udicious

, ,

exercise will d o a great deal for m ost red noses

, ,

m ore especially if you add to these a cheerful

d is position and a deter minatio n to tak e l ife as
 C OMP L E X IO N AS A S O U RC E O F BEAU TY . 1 53

it comes and not , worry over anyt hing .

L iquid Powder will be found i nvaluabl e for

hi ding redness of nose or und ue flushing of

t he complexion either at n ight ,

or d uri ng the
daytim e sin ce i t is
, qu ite imp ercep t ibl e, i f pro
perly appl ied and not only harml ess but actu ally
,

beneficial to the sk in .

N ext to beautiful eyes and beauti ful ha ir the ,

’
m ost i mportant featu re ,
perhaps i n a woman s
,

face is her mouth .

N ow a truly beautiful m ou th can only bel ong

,

to a woman possessing a certain beauty of dis

position be cause apart fr o m the s hape and colour
, ,

of the m onth so mu ch , of i ts beau ty depends

u pon its habitual expression .

L psi that ou tb l us h th r b y red e u ,

“l i th l usci ous d ew of sw ee tn ess

s fed ,

are the outcome of good heal th good blood and a , ,

good d ispo siti o n . Wrin k l es and d im ples are the

resul t o f the habitu al exerc is e of cert ai n sets of

m uscles . Whether sweetness sourness or sul kiness ,

is the sal ien t point of any tem p erament may be

1 54 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

easily gleaned merely by observing the lines round

the mouth . The various passions too have an , ,

enormous in fluence u pon these and upon the ,

colour of the lips . A nger; envy ind ignation love

, , ,

ad miration pleasure will pal e

, ,
or redden them and ,

each carves its o wn special lines upon the features .

N ever have recourse to l ip salves

-
or toilet V inegars
for reddening the lips . L ips that are painted lose
all their sweetness ,
al l their suppleness ,
and
most of their fascination . E ndeavour to keep
them fresh and smooth by gentle massage with
some emol lient cream , and take f ca re o you r
“
d iges tion . D ry parched lips
, , that chap and
crack on the s mallest provocation , may gener
al l y b e attributed to some derangement Of the
digestive system .

S weetness and purity of breath a great con,

sideration in everybody depends upon two th ings ,

a good d igestion and u ndecayed teeth . A few

drops of lemon j uice
-
on the tooth brush occasion
-

ally is very good for the teeth and gums Of m os t

people ; but there are j ust a few to whom it cannot

be recommended . S oap may be used with
advantage once or twice a wee k (being both
 C OMP LEX IO N AS A S O U RCE O F BEAU T Y . 155

al kaline and antiseptic) but not every day since it

, ,

tend s to render the teeth a bad colou r O ne o f .

the best and m ost poetical of dentifrices i s the

strawberry which also cleans the tongue most
,

e ffectually— for the t ime being ; but a n ormally

clean tongue can of course only resul t from a
, ,

normal ly clean stomach . S alt charcoal camphor

, ,

ated chal k are al l useful for cleaning the teeth

,
.

The gr eat point to observe i n choosing a tooth

powder i s to g et one that is fin el y -
ground and free
from gritty particles . M any of them contain
ground cuttle -
fis h , which is apt to rub o ff the
enamel . This spoils the col our and renders them ,

brittle i n time .

Tooth powder is naturally one

-
of those articles
that m ust be chosen to suit each i nd ividual t aste ;
but personally I always use the Dewp erl ia D enti
, ,

fric c for several reasons

,
. To begin with I kn ow ,

that i t is made m os t carefully and that each

,

ingred ient is Of the best qual ity ; it has moreover , ,

a toning e ffect u p o n th e gums , leaves a most

comfo rtable feeling i n the mouth al lays ,
in flam m a

tion and cures

, gu m -
boils besides gi vi ng a del icate
,

fragrance to the breath .

1 56 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

G riflit hs—a
’
Dr A . . B . well known analyst an d
-
,

the author of several works on bacteriology

wrote of it as follows when i t fi rst came ,
out

“
I hereby certify that I have examined the
new Dewp erl ia D entifrice , and find that it
is an invaluabl e preparation . I t contains no

thing that is injurious to the teeth and gu ms ,

and it has the property of destroying t he

microbes of d enta l caries , and thereby pre

venting the acid fermentation in the m outh ,

and the formation of l actic acid . I have no

hesitation in saying that this new denti frice

is excellent— l n fact i t i s wel l n igh perfect ,
-
fo r
”
the teeth .

O n seeing this ,
I g t
o a box to try i t and ,

found it so superior that I no w u se i t continu

ally and have recommended it to all my friends
,

and acquaintances most ,

of whom are equally
satisfied with it . A few ,
who su ffered from
spongy gu ms assure me that i t has rendered
,

t hem fi rm and consequently tightened their teeth

,

again in an astonishing manner . This demon

strates its antiseptic and tonic qualities . B u t,

of cou r se ,
the beauty O f the teeth depends
 CO MP LEXI O N AS A S O U RCE O F B E AU T Y . 1 57

brus h u
p an d d rum , n ot l en gt hways, and to

l an th e
c e in side po rtion of t he t eeth as wel l as

”
In s peakin g of c ompl e xion , y o u m us t un der
stand that I mea n th e reby all thos e pa rts of the

we mus t n ot omit to d is cuss arms han ds , n eck , an d

feet also though the lat ter

, ean n ot be said to

A beautiful arm s ho ul d be ro unded in its curve s ,

d ev oid of angl es so ft s mooth whi t e and ful l

, , , , of

vitality . An arm tha t is fat , sk inny ,

l u mpy,

at the wriSt , or t he dainty db p l es in th e e lbow

There is by the way, an immen s e dm l of

158 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

N owadays we have learned to reverence much

which it has hithert o been the fashion to despise ,

“
and the human hand that looks al l darkened with
.

life and beset with accidents no l onge r arouses

in us either aversion or contempt ; still this does n ot ,

prevent us doing our best to gain and retain as

much beauty as lies i n our power .

The hand of a sensitive woman is a great i ndex

to her feelings and often betrays them
, in ad v er
t en t ly . S he may k eep a mask on her features but ,

not on her bared hand . I t will become hot or

cold fresh tired pale

, , ,
or l anguid according to the
,

varying state of her physical and mental condition .

The old painters like the eighteenth

,
-
cen t u ry l ove
lyrists failed utterly to recognise this fact
, . NO
thing that is flat broad square strong pallid red
, , , , , ,

d ark or rough is ever t o be fo und in any o f their

,

portraits or any Of their poetry . O f all the infinite

variety and al l the characteristic aspects which
m ust have existed i n those b an d s that reigned and
ruled fought and fled loved and lied painted and
, , ,

sang killed and coveted

, ,
disdained and died ,

gloried and suffered tortured and terrorised no

, ,

thing has been handed d own to us in their work .

 C OM P LEX I O N AS A S O URCE O F B EAU T Y . 1 59

”
These were not artistic i n the eyes of the O ld
Mas ters and c o nsequentl y
,
n ot w o rth y of perpetua
tion . \Ve wal k through th e big gall eri es of world
renown ed portraits al l over E urope ,
an d simply
wonder . The b eads and faces are all there ,

stam ped with their o wn spec ial individua l ity of

ru gged s trengt h fem inine beauty m anly nob il i ty
, , ,

e fl emi
'

l ow cunn ing shameless vice i ro n tyranny

, , ,

nate weakn ess ,

bol d rec kl essness ,
or shrin king
cowardice j ust as the case may be but the hands
, ,

d o not match or complete the ch aract er ; th ey are

all more or l ess alike and th ey are m ost
, of them
nothing more than conventional lies . They are al l

long and n arrow wi th slender tapering fi ngers an d

,

ov al nail s . They are al l delicately p ink and white ,

and d ain tily devoid of character . To some few of

the faces this hand doubtl ess belonged by right ;

“
but to the great m ajority i t is pal pably a fal se
”
qu antity in their port raiture and , on e that would
no longer be tolerated i n this age of pre
R aphaelitism . O f course ,
the size shape an d , ,

col ou r of the hand will always depend a good deal

on race heal th and m od e o f life ; but it is a mistak e
, ,

to thi nk that a sm al l w hite hand is a sign of high

1 60 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

descent . We have only to Observe the hands of

those around us to d iscover very quickly the

fallacy of this noti o n . Women of the best blood
and noblest birth Often possess hands that are
coarse square and red whilst many a humble
, , ,

“ ”
shop girl
-
or city typist has hands so ideally
beautiful that they m ight serve to inspire both
poet and painter . I nherited tendencies are to be
seen in baby hand s too which after life may , ,
-

either modify or d evelop .

The fashion for o u t door sports and amusements

-

has largely stimulated the muscular development

’
of the modern woman s hand . We all use o ur

hands and arms e nergetically and healthfully i n

cycling golfing rowing riding
, , , ,
tenn is ,
hockey ,

and other games ; but they are apt to bec o me

rough and red unless we take a l ittle care . It
is a good plan to rub in some skin food at -

n ight or after any violent exercise to prevent

the pal ms from hardening or blistering whilst ,

an application Of L iquid Powder ,

each time
after washing will be found an excellent means
,

of whitening them naturally and imperceptibly .

F or evolving a beautiful arm from a sk inny or

 C OMP LEX IO N AS A S O U RCE OF BEAU T Y . 16 1

bony arti cle there is nothing l i ke physical cul ture

, .

D umb bel ls I ndian cl ubs fencing rowing

, , , , or any
sort of exercise that will devel op the muscl es of

the arm . The word calisthenics is made up of

tw o Greek word s m eaning beauty and stren gth ,

therefore it should be the keynote to al l physical

cul tu re . Women who are d owered by Da me
N ature wi th beautiful arms and hands must never
wear tight gl oves tight bo ots tight corsets tight
, , ,

S leeves ,
or anything else tight i f they wish to pre ,

serve their beau ty and whiteness . When yo u

i mpede the circu lation in any way the hands and,

arm s are al m ost the fi rst part s to show it . An

i m portant portion of the hands are the n ails yet ,

very few peopl e take th e trouble to care for these

properly . The fi rst po int , of course i s to keep,

them sc rupulously clean and well polished -

. They
should n ever be cut bu t merely fi led down (not
,

too short ) wi th the eme ry bo ards sold for that

purpose in s mal l b o xes . A bundle of orange
sticks for pushing back the sk in at the base of

the nail are also necessary an d s o me p o lis hing ,

powder ; o r, i f you have nei ther ti me nor in cl ina

tion to perform thes e little Operations fo r your
1 62 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

sel f a visit on ce a fo rtnight to a good manicurist

,

will keep your nails in capital order without ,

m uch trouble on your o wn pa rt during the

interval .

S om e women fi nd that intens e heat or intense

cold renders their fin ger nail s
-
brittle . This con
dition may Often be cured or obviated by rubbing
al mond oil thoroughly into them at night . N ail s
of this C haracter shoul d be cu t with sharp
scissors ,
n ot fi ,
l ed and they ought always to be
soaked in h ot water beforehand but should never
,

be exposed to great fi re -
heat in an ungloved
state .

The hands are indicato r s not only ,

of character ,

but als o I n certain diseases ( for in

of health .

stance some forms o f consumption ) the nails

, ,

often exhibit this tendency by their shape and

colour long before the d isease manifests itsel f
otherwise .

I have occasiona ll y b een cal l ed upon to decide

what seems rather a k notty point to some women
O ught the nails to b e cut square or rounded ?
I n m y Opinion there is only on e reply to this
’
question . I t is this : D on t cut them at all but ,
 CO MPLEXI O N AS A SO URC E or B EAUT Y . 163

The pre ttiest han d or foot must inevitably be

co m e d is t orted by bein g forced in to boots or

t hem ; the re fore be auty ,

as well as hea l th an d
elega n ce prompt us to take
, a re
c that the cover
in g s of the feet ,
as w ell as o f the han ds shoul d
,

pres ing t hem

s . I f yo u try to tak e fro m t he l ength
by wea ring short boots , you only add to the

That we who ,
se ek to gain and retain be auty ,

ca nnot afford to wa r tigh t cl othing of any d e

scription is a fac t whi ch c n a not be t oo strongly

The resul ts o f footgear t ha t is either too tight or

too l oo se may n ot be imm ediatel y ap p arm t ; bu t

s ul ts , are ce rta in t o mak e th eir appearance in

1 64 BEAU T Y C UL T U RE .

due course and are then most di ffi cult to get

,

rid of
.

The feet should be daily washed with soap and ,

any callosities or i ndurations ought to be carefully

rubbed down with pumi ce stone . The best and
si mplest cure for corns i s to soak the feet i n hot
water scrape the corn and then apply a bit
, , of

ordinary soap plaster to it changing this frequently

, .

A gr e at secret in keeping the feet com fo rtable and

healthy is to wash them night and morning and to ,

change t he stockings often because the largest

,

pores in the body are on the sol es of the feet and ,

the perspiration is therefore more profuse . Th o se

who suffer from excessive or mal odorous p ers p ira
tion must be mos t careful upon these points . In
“
the chapter called Practical H ints for Personal
”
B eauty , I shall give remedies against this also ,

for hot hands and excessive perspiration under

,

the armpits .

Many women su ffer greatly from tired sore , ,

or

swelled feet after walking or shopping . When

this is a symptom of rheu matism or gout they ,

must naturally look to their d iet first of all and ,

carefully d
avoi Win es, mal t liquor and rich fo ods
,
 C OMP LE XIO N AS A S O URCE OF B EAU T Y . 1 65

but i f it be merely a l ocal evidence of over fatigue

-
,

they will fi nd great rel ie f from a tep id foot bath -

,

’
in which a desser tspoonful of J une s H ealth B ath

S al t has been d issolved . D r A rabella K enealy

.
,

“ ‘ ’
s peak ing on this subj ect says , : The S al t is
“
aromatic and refreshing relieving fatigue an d , ,

”
bracing the system . I entirely c o ncu r i n h er
opinion ; i t is in fact quite a g o dsen d
, ,
to people
wi th tend e r feet because it gradual ly hardens and
,

strengt he ns them . O ne point to be i m pressed

u pon everybod y is the necessi ty for keeping the
fee t d ry and war m . S o me w o men are very
careless ab o u t damp feet and i f the indiscretion ,

of n ot changing thei r footgear be born e in upon

“ ”
them ,
th ey designate it as fussiness ,
l ittle
realising that they a re sowing i n themselves not
o nly the seeds of dyspepsia an d ne rvous or

fe m inine ail m ents but , o ften als o of d e afness and

rh eu matis m . This l eads m e on , too to saying a
,

few words about the e ar itsel f which l ike the

, ,

hand is a great indicat o r of character i n many

,

ways . A s mall wel l shaped ea r is said

,
-
t o b e an

evidence of refinement and go o d breed ing ; but

here again general observation proves to us that
, ,
1 66 BEA UTY CU L T UR E .

ears of the most beautiful form and of the very ,

ugliest proportions are constantly to be seen i n

,

every rank and amongst every cl ass O ne thing .

is however certai n ; big ears have always been

, ,

attributed to those who are prone to stubborness

and slow of wit . Y et an anecd ote told m e a
short time ago seems to contradict the latte r
idea .

A s mart tourist said on e d ay to an I rish

“
peasant whom h e was quizzing :
, Yo u should get
’
your ea r s lopped Pat ; they r e too l a rge for a
,

man .

’ “ ’
A n bedad ,
repl ied he ,
I was just t hin kin
’
yo u ought to get yours made l arger ; shure they r e ,

”
far too s mall for an ass .

The readiness of this repartee scarcely j ustifies

the popular aphoris m t o my mind ; but then ,

though donkeys possess the longest of ears they

,

are n ot real ty stupid ex cep t when it s u its their

,

’
p p
u r oses to 6e 5 0 .I ve had the p l easure o f being
on inti mate and friendly terms with many who
proved themselves to be not only of the most
intelligent character but also blessed with a very
,

k een sense of humour and a great aptitude fo r

,
 C OM P LEX IO N As A SO U RC E OF B E AU T Y . 1 67

practical j ok ing . Therefore i t appears to m e that

, ,

though a superabundance of ear may be th e

sal ient C haracteristic of an ass it does not always
,

follow t hat t h e ass is a fool . N everthe l ess we ,

must all adm it that a dainty pink shel l l i k e littl e

, ,
-

ear is a great beauty in a wo man

, .

The size of the ears is d i fficult to redu ce ;

bu t the shape may to a certain extent, ,
be
modified during childhood and early youth . If
they have a tendency to protru de a cap , or banda e g

worn round them regularly during the night so as ,

to keep them back flat against the head will ,

remedy this and the purplish or parchment tint

,

of the ears m ay be changed by gentle massage

with any good skin food -
. But the beauti ful e ffect
of many l ovely ears is often completely spoiled by
a lack of sc rupulous cleanl iness even i n women ,

who are fastidious on other p o ints of the toilet . It

’
is so d i ffi cult to see into one s o wn ears , and th e
dirt of the atmosphere catches i n the cu rves and
accu mul ates there so easily . The wax that collects
i n the extern al auditory duct of the ear is a
necessary secretion which ought however to be
, , ,

cleared away daily in order to prevent its collection

,
168 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

in quantities that are unp l easan t and inimical to

per fect hearing .

S ometimes partia l deafness is induced by the

pressure of harde ned wax u pon the aural nerves
or against the drum of the ear and it may be
,

completely cured by steam ing the ear over a jug

of hot water fo r ten m inutes and then sponging
,

the interior with warm lathery water to bring o ut

the softened wax ; but you must be careful not to

get into a d raught or go ou t in a cold wind a fte r
this little process , or you m ay catch cold in you r
ea r and be deafer than ever
, . I t is not a good plan
to syringe the ears ind iscri minately as you may ,

injure your hearing by using the water too hot or

in too great a volu me , or with too mu ch force . A

fan is a great aid in co n versation to those who su ffer
from n ervous deafness and it is infinitely more
,

”
artistic in appearance than a trumpet of any
k ind .

Perhaps some of you will argue that appearances

count fo r very l ittle where deafness is concerned
yet many peopl e who are really hard of hearing
would n ot confess this infi rm ity for the world . It
is j ust th ese cases who may help themselves by
 C O M P LE X IO N AS A S O URCE OF B EAU TY . 1 69

using a fan without in any way cal ling att en tion

,

to the defect they fain would hide as long as

possible . D eafn ess by the way may be ind uced
, ,

ei ther by the frequent sn iffi ng of s mel l ing sal ts -

,

or by the constant u se of strong perfu m es , es p ec i

ally in the case of a wom an wit h a sensitive nervous

o rganisati o n . S o me na tural od ou rs , as , fo r instance ,

the brea th of fresh v i ol ets ros es mign o nette l ilie s

, , ,

o f- the val ley pin e trees cycl amen and others are
-
,
-
, , ,

both soo t hing and in v igorating to t he nerves ; but,

i t is very d iffi cul t to get an artifi ci al ex tract o f any
Of them that has the same delicious d el ica cy or

the sam e benefi cial effects consequently I strongly

,

advo cate a w ry sparing use o f any perfume A .

wom an who is absolutely C l ean and abs o l ut e ly

heal thy n eeds noth ing of that kind to enhance her
O wn person al charm .

B efore l eaving the subj ect of co mplexion al to

gether I may suggest to those who insist
,
on

e mpl oyi ng rouge ,

that there are a few l ittl e
“ ”
wrin kl es t o be Obse rved in its us e that d etract
greatly from its artifi cia lity and in artist icn ess .

To begin wi th choos e the

, t in t of you r rouge
wi t h d ue consid eration for th e colour N ature in
170 BEA UT Y CU LT U RE .

tended you to have . Peach bloom d oes

-
n ot suit a
fair complexion nor bright carmine a dark
, on e ;
whilst the l il ac tints affected by m any women are
too unnatural fo r anybody, and ruin the beauty of

an otherwise pretty face .

Women inclined to a perspiring greasy skin ,

should never u se g rease paint -

or rou ge powder
-
,

because it will assume a streaky appearance

d irectly they get ho t .

I n putting on l iquid rouge apply a basis ,

of

l iquid powder fi rst then d ip a bit ,

of fi ne sponge
i nto bot water put an infinitesimal amount Of rouge
,

on to it and lightly place it j ust where it ought to

,

be and nowhere else . The great art of a skil ful

make -
up i s to deceive beholders into the belie f
that there is n o art . I n order to d o this effectually ,

you should never touch up your eyes you r ,

l ips ,
or your ears . When the rest Of the face is
left palpably an n a tu rel , a suspicion O f rouge i f ,

sk ilfu lly put on , is undetectable even by you r ,

bitterest enemy but the maj ority o f women make

the fatal m istake of putting on t oo much and ,

putting it in the wrong places . A fter many ex

“
p erim e n ts with various brands Of rouge I have ,
 COMP LE XIO N As A S O URC E O F BEAU TY . 171

come to the concl usion that the l iquid art icle

m anu fact ured by M rs . Pomeroy is the bes t fo r

most fai r peopl e bo th from the point

,
Of colo u r and
hygien e When properly put on , it d oes not get
i nto the pores of th e sk in and has the advan tage
,

Of not com ing O ff for two or three days even ,

d uring ord inary ablutions ; it is gradual ly rubbed

O ff wi th the scarf skin without penetrating to
-
, ,
or

harm ing the derm a in any way

, . F or d ark people
’
J une s R ose d ew is pe rhaps better in tin t
-
, or th e
rouge crea m of the F rench H ygienic S ociety .
 C H A PT ER V I I I .

O N D I E T AS AN A I D TO B EAU T Y .

Not the m os t th er al amo gst us

e e n can l i ve u p o n air.

W h at is thi s th ought or thi n g

W hi ch I call beau ty ? I s it th ought , or th i ng P
15 it a thought a p t ed f r a thi g ?
cce o n

O r b th P r
o itherP—a pr t xt— word
o ne e e a

—E 1i b t/ B arr tt B row za e t e n ing .

H AB IT UAL indigestion i s a great foe both to

heal th ,
beauty and amiability
, . I t takes the
sunlight ou t of the heart as well as out Of the
eyes . P hysiologically described i t is the resul t , of

a chronic catarrhal inflam m ation of the mucous

membrane . I t Often leads t oo to constitutional , ,

’
d iseases l ike phthisis d iabetes
, , ,
B right s d isease ,

etc because som e o rgans are being systematically

.
,

starved and ,
are therefore unable to perform their
proper functi o ns . S hakespeare gives us to und er
stand in Coriol em u s that as far back as the times ,

1 72
 ON DII Tl
-
‘

AS AN AD) TO BEAU T Y . 1 73

of an cien t R ome people al ready real is ed the

,

impo rtan ce Of th e s tomach in rela tion to the oth er

portions of o ur orga nis ation . E ach member of

the body serves it and is in re t urn fed by i t

,
. If,

then we
, c an k eep it in a pe rfect l y normal con
’
d i tion we have achiev ed the sec ret of a wom an s
physi ca l wel fare ; but there is , pe rha ps n o portion
,

of the body th at is m ore eas il y u pse t o r m o re

qu ickly sus ce ptible of inj uriou s n ervous reflex
in fluen ces . The sympto ms of in diges tion are so
many and so varied that many peopl e suffer from
i t without bei ng at al l aware Of the fact . I ha ve ,

i nd eed noted at l east th irty six difi eren t sym ptom s

,
-

I n some cas es s everal o f these are pres en t si mul

tan eo usly in others onl y one or two
, .

Let me men tion a few of thos e most c om monly

met with .

The tongue is coated particul arly at the bas e

, .

There is a dry pas ty tas te in the mou t h and

, ,

'

the Od our of the b rea th is o flen s iv e . The

appetite IS ea p ricious ei t her abnormall y l arg e
or abn orm all y s m al l . A feel ing of weight or

pa in in the ches t is fel t after eating . The re are

”
gas eous eructa ti o ns or , t he food repe ats ,
1 74 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE .

d istention of the s tomach and i ntestines ta k es

p l ace . N ausea with ,
or withou t vom iting may ,

b e present . S l imy mucus or partially d igested

food may be thrown up . D ilatation Of the
stomach i s s ometi mes caused by the generation
there of deleteri o us acids and gas es .

The bowels are either con stipated or relaxed ;

i n the l atter case the faecal matter is Often m ixed
with sl ime and m ucus . The functional rhythm O f
the heart is greatly disturbed . T he m otion Of the
hear t is enfeebled s mother ing sensations are
com mon als o attacks
,
of palpitation . The nervous
system s u ffers greatly . M ental and physical
sluggishness ensues Often accom panied by , ex

treme depression of spirits irritability

, or vi o lence
of temper . S leeplessness , or lethargi c sl umbers
may be induced . H eadache , back ache -
, or

neuralgia O f vari ous parts of the body may be

either intermittent or chron ic symptoms ; whilst
d erangements Of the l iver and k idneys are certain
to appear sooner or later . The complexion
becomes sallow coarse ,
or unwholesome ; the eyes
d ul l and l ack lustre -
; the nose red and sometimes
swe l l ed ; the l ips d ry and parched ; lines appear
 O N D IE T AS AN A ID T O B EAU T Y . 1 75

on the face ; and the h air not only l oses its g l ossi
”
ness but frequen t l y
, fal l s out in hand fu l s .

B ut the real ques tion is after , al l, how are we to

avoid ind iges tion , if we have none of th ese
sym ptoms and cure ourselves if we are already
, ,

suffering from any or al l of them ? Well that is ,

not onl y a ques tion of diet but , Of diet in con

j un ction with the ordin ary laws of hygiene . Fo r

ins tan ce, if you sit down to a mea l feelin g

physically exhaust ed you cann o t expect that your
,

diges tion is go ing to d o its w o rk e ffi cien tly . On

the o ther hand , if your nerves are being dis
tracted by fea r anger worry or anx iety w hilst the
, , , ,

process of d iges tion is goin g on the reflex a ction ,

on th e nerves o f the s tomach will be sufficien t to

u pset the whole equil ibrium of the diges tive

organs . Then a ain the bes t diges tion in the
,
g
,

world may be ruined by bad cookery . The more

delicate the diges tion is the more n ec ess ary for ,

car
e in this res pect . A n atoni c stomach coated ,

wi th mucus and ,
n ot secreting s u ffi cient gas tric
j uice req uires
, all the help it can g et from th e
m ost careful cook . This reminds me of an an ec

dote bea ring on this subject . A F ren chm an , wh o

 1 76 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

was sent for a tour in S pai n on account Of his

health tragically exclaimed to his doctor
, on his
retu rn :
“
Why did you send me to that beauti ful
land of fruitfulness and fertility ? God provides
the food bu t the devil provides the cooks
, .
”

A l most every article of fo od may be Of the best

and finest quality in its raw condition and yet be ,

r endered absolutely i mpossible Of digestion d uring

the process of cooking ; so that i mproperly c o oked
food is a frequent s ource of i ndigestion i n this
country quite as much as in S pain .

A nother cause O f chronic dyspepsia is the quan

tity of food taken . S ome people particul arly girls
,

and young married women eat too little , . M idd le

aged and elderly women ,
on the contrary generally ,

eat too much . Few seem to u nderstand that a

woman who is over forty -
fiv e years requires a g o od
deal l ess nourishment than on e under that age ,

because she is physiologically d i fferent . The

ovaries no l onger require to be fed ; they are
gradually shrivelling away according to a law Of ,

N ature . E xcess of al coh o lic d rinks ,

o r, indeed ,

l iquid of any kind at meal ti mes also produces ,

dyspeps ia . I f the gastric j uices become too much

 O N D I E T AS A N A I D TO B EAU T Y . 1 77

d il uted they ar e
, t oo weak to d o their wor k . I t is
a great mistake , t oo, to dri nk wine éet weezz me als .

A gl ass Of mil k heated to 1 1 5 - 1 20 d egrees is a

much better pick me - -
up fo r a del icate wo man .

Those who disl ike milk may substitute a smal l

’
cup of bee f tea bovril
-
, ,
B rand s essence , or L iebig ,

wi th some bread in i t . A s mal l quantity of sound

wine (n ot nasty sour cheap stu ff) is generally an
, ,

aid to digestion ; but when you are not eating

sol id food it is better to avoid stimul ating the
d igestive organs . This is why th e habit Of d rink
ing promiscuous C ups of tea or co ff ee at any and
every hour of the day is such a bad o n e, since bo th
these beverages are sti mulan ts th o ugh they d o not ,

make you d ru nk . S till ,

SO far as th e d igestion and
“ ”
nervo u s system are concerned ,
tea bibbing
-
is
’
quite as pernicious as wine bibbing
-
. Tea would ,

however be much less injurious i f i t were made in

,

such a way as to preclude the tannin being drawn

ou t O f the tea l eaves because th is tannic acid has
,

the e ffect when it gets into the stomach

, , Of chang
i ng whatever it fi nds there into an indiges tible
mas s that produces dyspepsi a . You should al ways
pour the water on to the tea leaves d irectly it boil s
M
,
1 78 BEAU T Y CU LT U RE .

let it stand from three to five minutes not longer , ,

and then pour it O ff into another hot teapot . By

this means y ou get you r tea fin e flav ou red ,

-
and of
,

“
equal strength throughou t The cup that cheers
but n ot inebriates is then a cup in which yo u may
ind ulge with impunity .

S ome people substitute cocoa for tea and coffee

i n their daily d iet ; still this d oes n ot su it every
,

body . C ocoa is nourishing but i t has a d istinctly

,

bilious t e ndency . Then we mu st n ot overlook the

fact that though we may give the s t omach its fo od
in the right quantities and of the best qualities we ,

shall still suffer from indigesti o n unl ess that organ

is in a proper cond ition to r eceiv e it and the res t
,

Of the digestive apparatus is ready and able to

“

assimilate it after it leaves the stomach .

The vital power known as nerve force governs -

and c o ntrols every organ Of the b o dy particularly ,

the l iver kidneys stomach an d bowels rendering

, , , ,

them active or inactive . U pon this account a

pers o n endowed with a fragile p/zys igu e but plenty
o f recuperative power will O ften get through a bad

i llness more easily than a robust person with less

vitality E ven with the av erage pers o n who
.
 O N D I E T AS AN A I D T O BEAU TY . 1 79

enjoys fairly go o d h e alth an excessive expend itu re

of n e rve forc e wil l l eave the vital parts
- of the body
deficient and may thus
,
be the cause of dys pepsia .

The d igestiv e org ans you see are n ot able to

, ,

c o nvert the food into usable material unless they

are i n good workin g order themselves . Y ou can
not expect a rusty machine to work ,
or a d irty on e

e ither . I f one or m o re of these i mpo rtant organs

is clogged with matt e r that ought to have been
el i minated fro m the system the human machinery ,

fails to work and hal f Of the food put i nto the

,

sto mach i s then was ted instead Of being used .

This is the case in a very large percentage of

stomach troubles ; therefore yo u wil l read ily s ee

that the u se of pepsine and o ther d igestive fe r

ments is of very l ittl e value where a pe rmanent

cure i s ai med at . Palliative measures of this
d es cription may do some good at the ti me ; still ,

th ey are at best on ly pal liatives . If a cu re is to be

wrought the st o mach must be toned and
, s ti mu
lated the nervous force must be in creased the
, ,

organs of excr e tion must be forced into activity ,

until they have e ach and all been rend ered capable
O f d o ing e ffi cient work without assistance . I t may
1 80 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

take weeks or even months to e ff ect this ,

fo r
N ature a l ways wor k s very slowly ; she carefully
clears away all the d ébris be fore beginning to
rebuild and re- organise ; but ,
by degrees , on e

symptom after the other d isappears unti l complete ,

heal th i s re established .

I n treating indigestion we can d o mu ch m ore

for ourse l ves than any nu mber of d octo r s can d o
fo r us . Hygienic rules and d iet are supe r io r to
drugs .

People with weak d igestions shou l d not dwell in

” “ ”
stu ffy room s or codd l e themsel ves . N ever
t h el e ss, they should also be careful not to exhaust
their n erves ,
or their brains ,
or th eir m uscles by
u n du e exercise . Fo r them too i t i s better to eat
, ,

—
a little at a time and often about every t wo hours ;
,

and they should a l ways rest for an

_
hou r after the
heaviest mea l of the day . By resting I mean they
ought to l ie d own fla t o n a couch or sofa and close
,

their eyes even i f they cannot go to sleep

,
. A
dyspeptic person has usu ally too little b l ood i n the
body and consequently too littl e nerve force ;
, , ,
-

there fore in order to give the stomach ever y

,

chance Of doing its wo rk p r ope r ly , you must , if

 ON D I ET AS AN AI D TO BEAU T Y . 1 81

possible , bring the brain ,

the spine and the
,

sensory n erves into a state O f complete rest and

, ,

so put i t out Of their power to u se u p any Of the

vital forces fo r the ti me being . A certain amount
of massage especially in the abdominal regions is
, ,

al so benefi cial to m ost su fferers . A great deal of

attention has been bestowed on this branch of

curative science of late years with good results .

Food s may be divided into two great cl asses

Organic an d inorgan ic .

O rganic foods are animal or vegetable and may

,

be again d ivided into two classes :

I N itrogen ou s foods
. .

2 . N on nitrogenous fo o ds
-
.

A ll foods are however either tissue producers

, ,
-

or force prod ucers

-
. N itrogenous foods such as ,

meat m il k and legu mins go to form the nitro

, , ,

genous ti ssues Of the body and are heat forming ,

-

A human being , or any other animal fed upon

foods d eficient i n n itrogenous substances would ,

rapidly decrease in weight ,

and soon d ie O f
“ ”
what physiologists call nitrogen starvation .

S tarchy foo d sugar and gelatine are also heat

, , ,
-
p ro
d u cers, but they are incapable Of nourishing the
1 82 BEAU T Y C U L T U RE .

tissues of the body . S al ine substanc es i n varying ,

quantities are requ ired ,

fo r all the tissues too , .

C o m mon salt is necessary fo r the prod uction of

the hyd rochloric acid of the gastric j uices i n

t he sto mach . Potassiu m salts are r e quired i n the ‘

fo rmation Of blood flesh and m ilk ,

. S alts of

l ime are needed for the proper form ation Of bone .

S alts of magnesia oxide ,

of ir o n and phosphates ;
,

are al s o necessary fo r healthy blood . You see ,

therefore that di fferent kinds Of fo o d have di ffer

,

ent sorts of work to perfo rm . O ur fo od has

I TO furnish matters for
. re- build ing those tissues
of the body which are being c o nstantly bu rned
away by the wear and tear Of l iving .

2 To
. manufacture and supply nerve force -
.

3 To
. maintain the normal heat of the body .

S ome kinds Of food , l ike sal t or water are

,

neither tissue producers nor heat producers ; but

- -

they are nevertheless indispensable to the proper

, ,

assi milati o n o f o ur fo od , to the interchange co n

t in u al ly going on bet ween the tissues and the

blood and i n the case
, of water to the elimination
,

of worn -
out tissue from the system .

N ow an excess
, of n itrogenous food prod uces
 on DIE T AS a n : A11) T O B E AUTY . 1 83

n ut n t in n of the m n s clm is che ck cd. Let harg y

m or in d tiier of mw d irection s acco rdin g to

tain t hem ab u n d an t l y ; but t h cy are al s o to be

has them in th e form of gl u ten ; p ws an d

el m con tain a la rge am oun t o f n cn rish m en t in a

gen ou s foo ds am d iges t ed in b fe s wm k an d

Beef is th e chief foo d of t his k in d, an d is in va l n

abl e when it can be d iges ted .

1 84 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

Veal contains a good d eal of gelatine but is ,

more indigestible and less nutritious .

Ven is on is most digestible but not nourishing ,

.

P orh is neither nutritious nor digestibl e .

Chicken an d g a m e are most digestible ; the l atter

is rich in phosphates but contains ve ry little
,
iron

or fat so good beef gravy shou l d be served with

,

it to supply this defi ciency .

Roas t mea t is generally more nutritious , though

less d igestible than b o iled meat .

of
The value fi sh
as a food depends upon its
being used as soon as possible after i t is caught .

I t is rich in phosphates and is o n this account ,

i nvaluable as a frequent article i n the diet sheet -

of

brain workers-
.

G ood bu t ter is a necessary article for every

normally healthy person .

Crea m ,
in any form is quite as nourishing and
, ,

much more palatable than cod liver Oil ,

-
.

P eas , bean s , an d l en til s , contain a large quantity

of iron and o ther flesh fo rming matter ; but they
-

should not be eaten by women who live a sedentary

l i fe .

B rown bread is mo re n utritious than white , be

 O N D I E T AS AN AID TO B EAU T Y . 1 85

m us e it conta ins more nitro gen ous an d p h osp hamd

sens itive st oma ch . The best b re ad for dy speptics

c ook ed . U nl es s the s tarch gran ul e s are l ibera te d

by the action of h eat, the dige stive j uices of the
st o mach are un abl e to get in to contac t with

their anti scorbu tic properties and S houl d al ways

-
,

form an im portan t i t em in the diet o f every

fruit of most kinds is especial ly benefi cial . F ruit ,

either ra w or stewed ough t ,

al ways to be ea ten
before or with breakfas t all the year roun d .

Ora nges stewed figs dates roa st apples supply the

, , , ,

pl ace in winter and sprin g of the fres h fruits

, ,

av aflab l e at oth er a ons

se s .
1 86 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE .

and ve ry easy of d igestion . M ilk sweet sour

, , , or

thickened ,
h ot or c o ld with sal t soda water rum
, ,
-
,

orbrandy is a most ben e fi cial food both fo r health

,

and beauty I f it produces constipation o r in

.

digestion in on e form it should be tried in another

,
.

’
Cocoa , particularly D r . Tibble s V i C ocoa -
, is
more suitable for some women than tea or coffee
but half -
a - teas oon p ful of it is quite enough to make
a large cup otherwise it Often prod uces a tendency
,

to biliousness .

C heerfulness of mind and conversation during

mea l ti mes are great aids to the digestion and we ,

should always bear in mind that an abnormally

large appetite is quite as often a symptom Of ln

d igesti o n as an abn o rmally s mall on e. A woman

over forty -
fiv e years requires a third l es s food than
a woman under that age .

TOO mu ch n itrogenous food renders the s k in

coarse and greasy it also vulgarises the m ind ,
an d
develops the sensual instincts unduly . I f we
want to train a prize -
fighter, we feed hi m on hal f
raw beef steaks and pints
- of porter give him
,

plenty Of fresh air and plenty Of muscular exercise

,
.

A c ele b rated French beauty of the l ast centu ry

 O N D I E T AS AN A I D TO B EAU T Y . 1 87

l ived for thirty or fo rty yea rs on strong beef broth ,

m il k and quantities
, Of oranges and other fru its ;
,

but , of c o urs e it w o uld scarcely suit al l

,
Of us to go
and d o l ikewise . We must fi rst d isc o ver o ur o wn
peculiar idiosyncrasies of constitution and then ,

feed ourselves accordingly . When Titania wished

”
to purge B o tt om Of his m ortal grossness ,
she
admonished her fairies to

Feed himwith apri cocks an d d ewberri es ,

W i th p urpl e grapes gr n figs an d m ul berri es

, ee , .

A pples , by the way are excellent food for some

,

k inds O f nervous dyspepsia and are also good for ,

rheu matis m insomnia and liver troubles

, ,
. They
assist d igesti o n by their action i n the stomach and ,

thus have a vital ising effect ; more o ver they , are

quite as nutritious as p o tatoes .

“
The Old adage that A pples are golden i f eaten
i n the morning silvem at noon and leaden at
, ,

”
night , seems to be quite o ut Of date now . Many
people fi nd that a couple Of ripe j u icy apples eaten
before they go to be d disin fects the mouth pro ,

motes heal thy slu mber pr events constipation and

, ,

consequen t ly beau t ifies the complexi o n in the most

1 88 B EAU T Y C UL T U RE .

hygien ic manner possible . I t is a l so conside r ed

'

to be a preventive Of thro at diseases .

L ooking at the question O f d iet broadly we may ,

confidently assert that the physical beauty and

psychic temperament of each on e Of u s l ies greatly
in o ur own hands . We can decide pretty wel l fo r

ourselves whether we will become poets o r pugilists ,

atheists or athletes I bsenites ,

or ideal ists pleasu re
,

lovers or pessimists realists , or religionists . B ut

”
when I say diet ,
I mean d iet i n its very
b roadest sense ie the food which we provide
, . .
,
n ot

only for the stomach but also fo r the skin the ,

lungs the heart the mind and the soul

, , , .

Whatever we s ow that we shall reap ; j ust th at

, ,

and — n othing else I t is rather the fashion t o cast

.

ou r bodily ail ments on to the back O f Providence ,

and then s it d own to play the part Of martyrs ;

but this is neither fair n or rational . I f we want
heal th we must l ive healthi ly ; and neither demand
m iracles from the H igher Powers ,
n or yet expect
that all the laws of the universe should be alter ed
to su it o ur o wn individual cases and pamper us in ,

o ur o wn individual vices ignoran ces , ,

or indolences .
 C H A PT E R I X .

ON HA PPI NESS AS A BEAU T Y P H I L T RE -

.

H ow goo d is man life l i v in g l h ow fit t o ploy

’
s . the m ere em

All the heart an d the soul an d the sen ses for ever i n j oy .
”

“
J oy is great st pan aceas in lif
on e of t he e a m ore positi ve e

m ean s of prol o gi g l i f th an all th e vit al lixirs in th w rl d

n n e e e o .l

La ght er i the m t sal t ary of all th e bod il y m o m ts ; for it

u s os u ve en

agita t es b o th th so u l an d t he b od y a t th
e am ti m prom t es e s e e, o

d i ges ti on ci r la t icu an d pers p rati on

on an d en li en s th e vital po wer in
i v
”—
, , .

e ery organ
v H f la d
. u e n .

THE S cience of H appiness an absurd notion ?

Not at all I assure , yo u . There are undoubtedly

certain fixed principles by following which we may
escape fro m what I wil l cal l chronic unhappiness .

O n the other hand these same principles tend ,

“
to prod uce that disposition known as happy
”
hearted ; consequently the study of thes e prin ,

ci l es ought to be su ffi cient to constitute a science ,

p
1 89
1 90 BEAU T Y C U LT U RE .

especially when we consider the enorm o us import

an ee Of the subj ect and the i mmense influence that
,

it h as upon the wel fare O f nati o ns and individuals .

What are these principl e

s ? They are so obvious
that even he who runs may read for they are simply ,

the l aws Of health ; mental moral and physical , ,

. A
sound mind i n a sound b o dy is t he great secret of

personal happin ess . I t enabl e s even those who

are constituti o nally fragile to fight the battle of l ife
triumphantly . The keyn o te to the whole theme
lies n o t in trying to d o away with all the troubles
and trials incidental to o u r progress through this
world but in kn o wing how to surmount th e m
, ,
ho w

to defy them how to be happy in spite O f them

,
.

L et us begin by examining some of the causes

that produce unhappiness
Want of m oney .

D isease or pain .

U ncongenial surr o undings .

U ncongenial occupations .

G ratified love .

Thwarted ambitions .

S in and vice .

B ad t emper .
 ON HA PPI N ESS AS A BEAU T Y P H I LT RE -
. 191

D isc o ntentedness .

A worrying d isposition .

We need only glanc e round us to see how few

are really happy . O ne is steeped in m is e ry for
this anoth e r is careworn for that ; and others are
langu ishing for yet other causes but ,
on l ooking
m ore closely ,
ho w Often d o we fi nd that suprem e
sel fishness i s at the bottom of al l this u nh appiness .

How few e ver real ise that we were in ten d ed for

“ ”
happiness ,
that To enjoy is to Obey ,
and
that it is therefore part of o ur duty to God to ,

man and to ourselves to be happy hearted

, ,
-
O ne
great di fficulty lies in th is fact ; anoth er is t o be
found in t he fact that it is al most i mp o ssibl e to

make peopl e b eliev e that in the great maj ority of

cases happiness l ies in ou r o wn hand i f we wil l

only grasp i t . The art of s miling is an art that
some people seem quite unable to acquire because ,

they wil l n ot try to d o so . They S hake th eir heads

and murmu r dolefully : NO no , y ou d o not
und erstand my tr o ubles and worries ; i t is the
wearer al o n e who knows exactly h o w and where
”
his shoe pinches him .

T rue ; but if there were no troubles to be sur

1 92 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

mounted there would be n o need for a science

,

of happiness . S ome folk fancy that there is a

certain sort of a esthetic merit in permitting them
se l ves to be made the martyrs Of circu mstance ;
but whilst contemplating their o wn martyrdom
complacently it seems never to occur to them
,

that th ey a r e themse l ves m arty r ising all those

around th em .

O thers ,
again , fancy that i f they could only
gratify every desire that arises they would be
enabled to l ive in a lasting condition Of suprem e
bl iss .

B ut, how woefully they are m istaken only the

spoilt child of fortune can attest A s a matter of

”
fact , the mere accessories of l ife have very little
to d o with happiness so long as we are not called
,

upon to endure privations that are phys ical ly

inj urious .

I t is the Mark Tapley spirit of cheeriness , the

capacity to make the best O f thi n gs which is the ,

corner stone o f the whole edifice and we may al l

-
,

possess this if we tahe the trou bl e to cu l tiva te it .

S ome few luc k y mortals are born with it but their ,

nu mber is limited . Most of us have to acquire it .

 O N HA PPI N ESS AS A BEAU T Y P H I LT RE -
. 1 93

B ut how ? L et us analyse it and find ou t its chief

elements . A pparently ,
it consists largely in
nerve force
-
.

I f I were asked to write ou t a com mon sense -

prescription for happiness it would read something

,

l ike the following I fancy ,

F resh air and exercise .

S ome regular employment .

A su ffi ciency of wholesome food .

Plenty of soap and water .

C ultivation of
the artistic instincts .

I nterest in hu manity .

B road -
minded sympathies .

A passion for someone or something .

A s mu ch sunlight as procurable .

A perfect nervous cu rrent .

A n unimpaired circulation Of the blood .

A ny woman (or man ) following ou t this p res crip

tion may cast physic to the dogs and defy any ,

nu mber Of worlds or the people in them to re n der

, ,

her more than t ra n s ien tly unhappy her recupera ,

tive powers rendering this an impossibil ity .

P ermit me to put you through a littl e catechism .

What is the physiol ogy of w o rry P

1 94 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

N erves in a state Of semi sta rvation -

.

H ow do you account for the inc rease of

p e ss rmis m ?
By the i ncrea se of l ive r troubles .

What i s the origin of drunkenness and sexual

excesses ?
They usually have their origin in diseases or

derangements of the reproducti v e system ; but

someti m es are a result Of brain troubl es either ,

hered itary or a cquired .

What is the anatomy of laziness ?

A defi ciency of vital force and muscular activity .

H ow d o you account for lying thieving cheat , ,

ing suicide murder

, ,

These ar e al l the outcome o f a b normal and per

verted brain power .

What is the moral effect Of dyspepsia ?

B ad temper irritability d iscontent rest l essness
, , , .

Name some o f the symptoms of a debil itated

ne rvous system .

Fear cowa rdice hyste r ia and vices of various

, , ,

descriptions .

C an yo u account for th e spite fu l ness an d smal l

mindedness of many women ?
 O N HA PP I N ESS AS A B EAU T Y P HI L T RE -
1 95

Y es ; becau se t he maj ority su ffer from an im

paired circul ation and so m e form o f dyspepsia ;

Often too from const i pation
, ,
.

W e might devo te pages to this

'
ki nd of thing ,

proving that every moral and men tal act of our

whil st the physi cal conditi o n is in its turn equ all y , ,

d ependent upon t he m ental an d moral atti tude .

The les son this S houl d teach u s is a very obvio us

one . I t ought to pro ve to us con cl usive ly t hat , ,

th e scien ce of happin ess is very closely related to

t he scien ce of heal thf ulness an d the science of

beau ty so that ,
if we wish to be real ly happy we
mus t first end eavour to be reall y h eal thy in mind
and body .

Wh at an enormous d ifi eren ce it might produ ce

'

in the w o rld i f we were al l imbued with an ardent

d es ire t o mak e the bes t
f l if e n o t only o f our own
o ,

’
l ives , but of o t her people s als o T o lay aside .

petty amb itions and pett y ri val ri es ; to es che w

”
envy hatred m alice and
, , ,
al l un charitabl en ess ;
to go on o ur way wi th sun s hine in our hearts and
suns hine in our eyes ; and to kee p our ear s ou r
,

hearts and our eye s always open ready to receive

, ,
1 96 BEAU T Y CU L T U R E .

every impression of beauty that the un iverse around

us may Offer to them fo r there is so much beau ty
that we can i mbibe al most unconsciously if ou r

s ouls possess the leas t a ffi nity for the beautiful .

People who are lacking i n vitality l ose hal f the

pleasures that the healthy enj oy . They simply
vegetate u ntil they wither away . They are never
tempted to dance along from pure exhilaration of

spirits ; they never know the true meaning Of the

adj ective delightful because they have never fel t
,

the blood coursing l ike champagne through thei r

veins ; they have never exulted in the mere j oy
o f being al ive These experiences are al l well
.

worth tasting . They thrill through every fibre O f

’
one s being ; they give us the power to enjoy so
intensely . We are fi lled with a hal f del irious de -

l ight by the gorgeous glory Oi a sunset sky and ,

hushed into cal m content by the star girt silence -

of a wintry night . O ur hearts tremble with awe

s o me wonder at the wil d surgi n g of the stormy
’
sea gainst a rock bound shore and sing a p man Of
-
,

praise at the splendid spectacl e of snow capped

-

peaks and foaming cataracts . The dazzling dewi

ness of a S an steeped sol itude brill iant in blinding
-
,
 ON HAP PI N ESS As A B EA UT Y P H I L T RE
-
. 19 7

l ight h o lds
, fo r us as m an y attractio n s as t he

transien t l ov el in e ss of a cl o ud swept landscape -

a nd th e m agic mystery of a t wi ttering twilight .

There is such abundance Of beauty everywhere in ,

coun try and ci t y in N ature and H u manity ; but

,

we must e duca te o ur senses to see it and feel it

spontaneously .

P oetry requ ires heal thy n erves to p revent it from

d egenerating into fe ebl e sentimen ta lis m ; and the
pros e of eve ry day li fe requires the seeing eye
-
,

an d the hearing ear and the und erstanding heart

, ,

to elevate it towards the real ms of ideal ism .

NO exist en ce— not even und er the m o st com mon

place circu mstan ces —need be al l pr o se . There is
plenty of poetry at hand though we are l iving at ,

the end of this much abused n ineteen th centu ry

-
.

The sun is such an inimitabl e artist and he stil l ,

shi nes — s o metim es . An d wherever the shadows

are d eepest the high l ights gleam most brightly
, .

There is n o paint er like the sun and there are n o ,

pictures l ike those in the great bo ok Of N ature .

\Vh e n we have l e arnt the art of thoroughly ap

p reciatin g each one Of th es e in its t u rn , we have

also learn t the true principles Of the science Of
19 8 B E AU TY cuLTU RE .

happiness . The blackest cl oud has generally a

silver l ining but u nless we have the physical
,

strength to wait until i t reveals its el f we shall ,

never enj oy the soul satisfaction Of its vision nor

-
,

wi ll our m inds r eap the heal ing ray Of its divine

hopefulness if ou r w o rn out bodies l ie senseless
-

and storm tossed -

on the weary wayside .

j ust after having written this I came acci ,

dentally upon an Old c o py Of t he Fortn ig htly

Rev iew containing an articl e by V ernon L ee on

“ ”
B eauty and S anity ,
which interested me so
much that I am tempted to quote from it fo r you r

b en efit t oo
How delicate an organism how al ive with all ,

’
l i fe s d angers is the hu man character
, ; and how
persistently do we consider it as the thing of all
things m o st easily forced int o any sort of p o sition ,

most safely handled in ignorance ! S urely some

Of the misery some ,
Of the haste and dead lock -

Of the w o rld is due to our all being m ade Of such

o bscure unguessed
,
-
at material . When shall we
recognise that the bul k o f o u r psychic life is un
consci o us o r semi conscious the l ife Of l ong
-

organised and automatic functions ? and that while

 O N HA PPI N ESS AS A B E AU TY P H I LT RE -
. 1 99

it is absurd to Oppose to thes e the more new ,

nu

accus tom ed and fluctu ating activity call ed

, reas on ,

this same reas on this cons cious portion of oursel ves

,

may be useful ly empl o yed i n understanding t hose

powers of N ature ( powers of chaos so metim es )
within us and i n provid ing that thes e shoul d t urn
,

the wheel of l i fe in the right direction even lik e ,

those other powers of N atu re outs ide us which ,

reason cann ot repress or di m inish but can under ,

stand and put to profi t . B ut instead Of this we ,

are ushered into li fe thin kin g ou rselves thoroughl y

cons cious throughout—c onscious beings of a
definite and stereo typed patt e rn and we are set
to do thin gs we d o not understand wi th m ech an ,

is ms we have never even been sh o wn . Told to be

virtuous not kn owing why and s til l les s guess ing
, ,

how !
S o me fo lk will answer that life itself se t tl es all

that with i ts j ostl e and bustl e

,
'
D oubtl ess but
in how wasteful des tructi ve un intelligent and
, , ,

cruel a fashion ! S hould we be satis fi ed wi th this

kind of surgery wh ich cures an ache by random
C hopping o ff a limb ; this elemen tary teach ing ,

which saves our body from b u rning by des troyin g

200 B EAU T Y C U LT U RE .

our fi ngers in the fire ? S urely not . We a re

worth m ore ca re on ou r o wn p a rts . The recogn ition

of this an d more especially
,
of the way in which
we may be damaged by dangers w have never
e

thought of as dangers ,
o ur souls undermined and
made boggy by emotions not yet C lassified brings ,

ho me to me again the general wholesomeness of

art . A rt in so far as i t moves

, ou r fancies and
em otions as it builds up
, o ur preferences and
repuls i o ns , as it disintegrates or restores our
vital ity is merely ano t her
,
of the great forces of

N ature and we require to select among its

,

activities as we select among the activities Of other

,

natural forces . When I wond er will the fo rces

, ,

within us be recognised as natural in , the s a me

s en s e as those withou t ; and o ur souls as p art O f

the universe prospering ,
or su ffering according to
,

whi ch of its rhythms they vibrate to—the larger

rhyt hm which is for ever increas ing and which
, ,

means happiness o r the s maller for ever slacken ,

ing which means misery

,

B ut , s in ce l i fe has go t two rhythms why shoul d ,

art have only o n e ? We can not get rid Of the fact

that however much certain sorts
,
of art are the
 ON HA PPI N ESS AS A B EAU T Y P H I L T RE -
. 20 1

natural expression Of certain r ecurring and co m

mon states Of being ; however much certain

preferences correspond to certain temperaments o r
conditions we must nevertheless put them aside
, ,

and give o ur attention here to Opposite s o rts of

art and opposite sorts O f preference for the simple ,

reason that the fi rst make us l ess fi t for li fe and

less happy in the l ong run while the second ,

”
m ake us more fi t and happier .

I t is for u s a question not so much Of what we

are at the present moment but what we wish to
,

make Of ourselves i n the future since we are al l ,

so constituted by N ature that the sense of

increasing psychi c health an d power wherever i t is ,

developed increases al most incred ibly the pleasure

,

to be d erived from impressions of beauty . We

have i n fact to educate ourselves
, ,
up to a real
appreciation of the beautiful in general . We hear
SO m uch nowadays Of a mental condition
, ,
of

poetic misery entitled Wel tschm erz . The expres

sion is as d i ffi cul t to translate int o every day -

E nglish as the c o ndition itsel f is to analyse from a

physiological point of vie w . Perhaps it is best
described as that passion for the i mpossible which
202 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

“
the ancient Gree k s called the d isease of the soul .

Now this d isease

, of the soul is a very fashionable
ail ment at this end -
o f a-
~
century . W ith some
people it is merely a pose ; with others ,
u n fo rt u n

ately it is Often a real ity the resul t

, ,
of inherited
constitutional m orbidness ,
Of nervous exhaustion ,

of sel f indulgence in unwholesome ideas Of neglect

-
,

of hygieni c measu res ,

of the influence of dim ,

pastille scented rooms and enervating at mospheres

-

where the health and breadth and fulness Of an

, ,

open air li fe never penetrate

-
. L et me speak to al l
you who are su ffering under this d isease in the
words Of the absentee gods of L ucretius
“
B elieve me , you would d o much better to be
”
quite healthy and quite happy .

“
B ut how ? you ask . I t is so easy to say, be
”
healthy be happy , ,
but what i f li fe and circu m
stances will not l et you ? D efy l i fe an d circu m
stances . Feed your body n ot starve it ; feed your
,

soul not poison i t

,
. Get away from the turmoil
of l ife even i f you are set down in the midst of it .
,

Go to N ature for he lp and give yourself a chan ce ,

Of happiness anyho w There is a wonderful re

, .

cu p erative power in iso l ation and repose . A

 ON HA P PI N E SS AS A BEAU T Y -
P H I L T RE . 20 3

soli tary wal k when the air is fi ll ed wi th coo l brisk

ness and greyn ess
, of sky seems restfulness em
bodied ; in brill i an t sunshine and bal my breezes ;

in songs of bi rds and the m usical rhythm of stone

tossed streamlets ; in the rustl e of faintly fanned
-

folia e and the swayin g

g of wi nd vexed woods ; in
-

the dewy glo ries of su nrise and sunset ; in storm

rent sk ies and m oo n li t moun tain s—there lies
health for th e sou l .

N atur e is often accused of want Of sym pathy

with hum anity . H er seem ing call ousness is , how
ever , n ot c ruelty for she is a m arvell o us soul
,

heal er . I f we will only l ay o ur wounded spirits in

her hands she w ill s oothe t hem
, . S he will S how
us how ri ch and rare and beau ti ful and many
sided li fe may be ; she w ill teach us how to revel
in its variety and how to real ise the incal culabl e
val ue of thes e heali ng powers of natural beauty to
the physical and m o ral as well ,
as the ae s theti c
sides Of our being .

Th e ol d Greek philosopher E pictetu s m ain

, ,

t ain ed that the d oor of happiness always Opens at

l east once in a li feti me for eve rybody though it is ,

not everybody who Obse rves j ust the moment

204 B EAU T Y C U L T U RE .

when i t stands aj ar and so passing , ,

on h e edl essly
or apathetical ly some m iss their chance for ever
,
.

I think there is a g o od deal of truth underlying

this idea . Would it not be far m o re reasonable
i f we w o uld all write on o ur hearts a fragment
from the psal m Of li fe :

Tr st
u no F t
howe r pl easan t ;
u ure ,
’
e

L t t h e d a d Pas t b ry its d a d
e e u e

L i e—l i e i t he l i vi n g Pr sen t
v v n e .

I t is no u se expend ing ou r nerve fo rce i n

-

d ream s of future bliss that may prove fruitless . It

is no use wasting it in vain regrets for what is
past . L et us breathe deep draughts Of life in the
present ; let us take the good the gods pr o vide ;

let us wring from circu mstances a certain am o unt

of beauty ; and to d o all this let us begin by
, ,

mak ing ourselves as physical ly perfect as p o ssible ,

S ince health always m akes fo r happiness and ,

happiness for beauty .

I s i t not L ewis M orris who tells us

S tron g soul s withi the pr s t l i n e en v e,

Th f t r
e il d th p t f rg t
u u e ve e , e as o o

G ras p i g wh at i with han ds O f s t eel

n s,
 m m m a mn mm m
MW alflh to d m h t m drm d.

The art o f fo rget ting is d ifi cu l t t o ac quire som e

times but, it is e minen tl y wort h the tro ubl e of

l earnt the art , we fin d it com para tively eas y to

practis e it . By degre es we get in to th e habit o f

our o wn . w e forg et too , , all

the l n ders pou red into

s a ou r ears , all the fau l t

( that o ften make so m uch mis chief) all the un kin d ,

speeches , all th e wro n gs , al l the t emptation s of

b Op s an d the brok en day d ra -

in s of the pas t

I f we wo ul d make th e bes t of l ife we must all

l earn the a r t of forgettin g beca u se this is the onl y

,

art that will enabl e us to b l ot out the d is agreeab l s

”
in cident to this morta l coil . Tro u bl es , l ittl e an d
206 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

big wil l come to each

, of us so long as we are
hu man and though brooding over
, o ur sins o r ou r

sorrows may appear pen itent and poetical it is not ,

p ra ctical . Penitence is only praiseworthy when it

”
brings forth fruit meet for repentance ; and
poetry is only valuable when its rhythmic tones
reveal to us some g l o ry or some depth beyond the
powers of prose .

0 , we l ive l we l i ve !
A d thi s lif th at we con cei ve
n e

I s a cl ear th i g a d a fai r
. n n

W hi ch we set in ry st al a r c i

Th at its b eauty m ay b e pl ai n

W i th a b r ath i g a d a flo od i g
e n n n

O f t h h a n lif o n th wh ole
e e ve -
e e ,

W hi le we h ear th e f rest s b udd i n g o

T o t he m usi c o f th e sou l .

Yet is it t u ed i ai n
,
n n v

R o k us s ftl y
c o ,

Le t it be a i ai n
s ll n v
”
.
 C H A PT E R X .

P RAC TI CAL H I N T S F O R P E RS O NAL BEAU T Y .

1 ask youth heal th

, , t
an d s ren gth for each of you . n ot m ore .

I f sh e be fair ’
t is be tt er fo r h er an d be sh e n ot ,

She ba th the m en ds in her o wn han d s .

”

I K eep m oderately early hours if possible

.
, .

2. Take a rest sometimes during the day by

lying down and cl osing y ou r e
y es for at leas t hal f
an hou r .

3.DO n ot get up too early — unless yo u are

obliged but d o not lie in bed awake . This is an

enervating habit .

4. S leep i n a room that is wel l aired daily and -

,

thoroughly ventil ated continually .

5
. S leep on a mattress and d o not let the bed ,

clothes be too heavy o r too warm .

20 7
208 BEAU T Y CUL T U RE .

6 . Take a sponge or hip bath daily i n cold

-
or

tepid water and a warm bath (using plenty

, of

soap ) once a week .

7 Do. n ot wear corsets or cl othing that is tight

or compresses the figure i n any way . Y ou o ught
always to be able to lift you r arms high enough to
d o your hair i n every dress you possess . This
is a capital test against tightness .

8 . Wear as little undercl o thing as is permissible ,

and substitute knick e rs (with rem o vable l inings )

for petticoats By following this rule your figure
.

and movements will gain im measurably in grace

and elasticity .

9 . L ight is as necessary to the human being as

it is to a plant or flower ; s o do not forget to let
the l ight and the sunshine into all your rooms .

I O Take plenty
. of Open air exercise in every
-

sort o f weather R iding rowing skating cycling

.
, , , ,

gol fing walking tennis hockey dancing gym

, , , , ,

mastics are al l exc ellent and indispensabl e items of

M/
,

beauty training— zf
-
taken in m od era tion , oo
g z

equ al ly f 1 mm ul w/zen ca rried to ex cess .

I I E at plenty
. of n ourishing food plenty ,
of

vegetables plenty ,
of fruit and d o not drink
,
to o
 P RACT I CAL H INT S FO R P ERSO NAL B EAU TY . 209

much t ea, co ffee ,

or other s ti mul atin g bever
ages .

12 . N ever eat at ind is criminate hou rs or to ,

te

l
p et ion , and tak e care to mas ti cate your food
thoroughly ; otherwise you give your stomach a
double amoun t of work to d o when the food is

n ot ground U p an d m ixed wi th th e sal iva be

fore it pass es into the gu llet . A good digestion

is a necess ary po int to be cons ide r ed in beauty

I 3 B e very s paring in your u se of perfum es and

.
,

do not habituall y use any of those strong scents

tha t fatigue the brain an d act deleteriously u pon
the nerves .

I4. N ever f ret over trifles , an d try not to

”
worry yours el f even
,
o ver serious troubles .

E ndeavour to tak e an optimisti c view of your

’
wn life and everybody else s
’
o . D on t be j ealous ,

en vi ous spi te ful or ce nsorious

, ,
. These em otions
onl y grave wrin kles on t he face ; bes ides they
,

”
are not worth while . Ou r pas sage through
this world is t oo short for such pe ttinesses and ,

they are fatal to lasting beauty either of person ,

210 BEAU T Y CU L T U RE .

15 . O ccupy your °

mind continually , develop

your sym pathies broaden your mental horizon
, ,

vitalise your soul currents Open your eyes and

-
, ,

your ears an d your hearts to the myriad voices o f

, ,

natura l beauty around you .

16 . Take u
p a hobby of some kind b ut
, do n ot

ride it too f a r or too fas t .

Give your nerves food and rest and exercise

j ust as careful ly and j ust as regularly as your
muscles and your mind .

“
18 . A lways modify the fashions i n dress to
suit your own person . L et the style and colour o f
you r costumes harmonise with you r figure age and , ,

comp l exion .

19. B ear in m ind that though B natura l is the

k eynote to g o od manners the melody will never be ,

a perfect on e unless it has tact and refinement

a
s an accompaniment .

20 R emember that the fi rst ru l e in the art

.

of being beautiful is to appear unconscious of

your beauty and the fi rst

,
rule in the art o f
being we l l d ressed is t o be unconscious o f you r
-

c l othes .
 P RAC TI CAL H I N T S F O R P ERS O NAL BEAU T Y . Z I I

PRA C TI C AL H I N T S ON P ERS O NAL B EAU T Y .

Wrz n é le l otz ozz to be painted

' '

-
on thrice daily .

1% o z tannin . .

7 o z rose water
.
-
.

3 oz . glycerine .

oz . eau de cologne
- -
.

Or ,

1 oz . lem on j uice -
.

1 oz . eau de cologn e
- -
.

s im
1 oz .
p le tinct be nzoin . .

2 oz . distilled water .

E at an orange on getting out of bed then drink

,

a tumbler of hot water d o arm and leg exercises

,

for ten minutes and take a constitutional as soo n

,

a fter break fast as convenient .

A void a s ti mulating diet take plenty o f open ,

21 2 B EAU T Y CU LT U RE .

air exercise and wash the face daily with the

,

following l otion :

1 oz . l emon j uice
-
.

1 oz . cucumber j uice -
.

1 oz . glycerine .

To keep tke skin fi rm .

’
U se June s B ath S alt i n your ab l utions twice a
wee k .

To g ain or reta in f reskn ess of com p l ex ion .

S team the face once every fortnight and rub ,

in some good skin food every third night wash

-
,

ing it previously with soap or toilet o at - meal

’
alternately and rinsing i t
,
tkoroag kly in te ia
p
water .

Warts f ace n eck or a rms may be got rid

on tke , , ,

o f by painting them severa l ti mes d aily with pu re

lemon juice -
.
 P RACT I CAL H I N T S F O R P ERS O N AL B EAU T Y . 21 3

Ton ic skin lot ion-

.

4 oz elder
.
-
flo wer water .

1 oz . eau de—
col ogne
-
.

oz . tin cture benz oin .

2 oz . cu cum ber j uice -

.

N ever apply this o r an

y o ther as tringent lotion
to a face covered wi th acne ; but you may apply i t
ad van tageously to any face after stea min g it ,
or

pricking o u t blackhead s because it closes the pores ,

.

O n this accoun t it is also a remedy aga in s t freckles .

Lotion f or bu mp s or blotcfies .

2§ oz rose water
.
-
.

oz . lemon ju ice -
.

1 d rm . sulphate of z inc .

V in o lia C ream rubbed into the l ip s and then

wipe d o ff both at night and before g o ing out
i
i nto the open a r .

D o n ot omit to use plenty of s oap on the face

at l eas t twice a week . I t preserves the heal th of
the skin main tains i ts tone and prevents w rin kl es
, ,
.
21 4 B EAU T Y CU L T URE .

I n case y o u feel any discomfo r t after using soap ,

rinse the face t/

z oron lzly
g with water into which a
few drops of l emon j uice h ave been squeezed
-
.

N ever use water that is quite col d or very hot for

your ordinary ablutions . I t is equally inj urious to

t he beauty o f the compl e xi o n and the general health

of the sk in L et the water be j ust warm and as
.
,

soft as possible I frai n water is not availabl e yo u

.
-
,

may soften i t without any deleterious e ffect by

the r o f
ei the following

1 . D issolve 25 grs o f potash in 3 pts water

. . .

2 . Pour teaspoonful eau de cologne into 3 pts - -

.

tepid water .

3 . B oil a hand ful of bran in 2 qts . water .

4 . Place a bag of toilet oatmeal in your wash

han dj ug .

5 S teep
. sl ices o f orange and lemon with the
peel o n o r sl ices o f cucumber o r melon in your
, ,

water for a few h o urs .

6 . Mix Q
} pt new
.
milk with
. 1 qt warm water
. .

Women who suffer from a greasy shiny condition ,

of the c o mplexion o ught never to wear flannel or

woollen garments n ex t to tke s kin .

 P R AC TI C AL H I N T S F O R P ERS O NAL BEAU T Y . 21 5

4 oz . petals of pin ks .

pure al cohol
gp t . .

2 oz . tin cture of benz oin .

1 oz . essen ti al oil of rosemary .

is so tonic and stimulating in its e ffects

c o nsta nt use is sai d to ensure perpetu al
youth . The petal s must be infused for ten days
in the al cohol then strain the l atter
, o ff, and add
the other ingred ients to it . I t m ust be kept in a
well stoppered bottl e
-
.

Lotion to p reserv e t/ze colou r of tlze s kin .

2 tabl es poonfuls lem o n juice -

.

6 tabl es poonfuls rain water -

.

1 tablespoonful simple tincture of

benz o in .

é tablespoon ful rose water -

.

Thi s is also excellent fo r ton ing the skin and

preventin g wrinkles but ,
it m us t n ot be d
us e

S uperfluou s hai rs on the face can only be real ly

 21 6 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

eradicated by e l ectrolysis and those who wish to ,

undergo this little process should always be most

careful to go to a qualified person . I can m ost
thoroughly recom mend Mrs . Pomeroy , 29 O ld
B ond S treet for the removal
, of these and other
facial blemishes in a skilled and competent
m anner .

H ow to cl ea n tko teet/z .

U se any of the powders reco m mended by you r

dentist with tepid water and brush the teeth up ,

an d down not lengthwise

,
To prevent tartar .
,

squeeze a few d rops of lemon j uice i nto th e water

-

for rinsing y our m ou th and use a,

powder contai n
i ng al u m three or four times a week .

Tk e H a n ds, Arms, Feet, etc.

Rem edy ag a in s t kl istered f eet .

Wear fi ne cashmere stockings ,

C hange them
frequently and powd er the feet daily with ground
,

starch before putting on the stockings . R ub a

s mall quantity of any g o od skin food into the -

soles at ni ght ,
or before startin g on a lon g wal k ,
 P R ACTI CAL H I NT S F O R P ERSO N AL B EAU T Y
. 21 7

2 oz . olive oi
l .

’
!
1
13 oz . be es wax .

This m us t be rubbed in thoroug hly at night and ,

a pair of white kid or C ham ois gl oves wo rn aft er

wards wi th the pal ms
, cu t o u t .

To p reven t ka n d s f rom cnapp z m

'

2 oz . glyce rine .

2 oz . eau —
de col ogne
-
.

1 oz . rose water
-
.

1 oz . dis til l ed water .

feet
.

B ath e the feet night and mornin g in s trong soda

water or steep them
,
fo r fi fteen m inutes in tepid
water in whi ch a packet of sea sal t has been -

d issolved and after d rying th em thoroughly wi th

,

a soft towel rub ,

in so me eau d e col ogn e or toilet
- -

vin egar ,
an d d us t t hem o ver wi th eith er of the
21 8 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

following powders to fill the pores which are ,

larger on the sole of the foot than on any other

part of the body .

2 oz . powdered boracic acid .

1 oz . powdered starch .

Or ,

2; oz . powdered alu m .

2% oz powdered tannin
. .

H ot damp hands may be d ried by u sing the

,

following lotion several ti mes daily and letting i t ,

d ry into the skin .

3 oz eau de col ogne

.
- -
.

I oz . fresh lemon j uice -

.

1 oz . tincture of bel ladonna .

Trea tm en t f or ex cess iv e p p
ers ira tion u n der tko

a rm
p its .

B athe the armpits twice daily i n equal parts of

alu m and water then d ry them rub i n a little

, ,

eau de cologne and powder with a m ixture

- -
,
of

starch and zinc but be careful to wash this away

at ni ght with warm water and plenty of soap .
 P R AC TI CAL HI N T S F O R P ERS O N AL B EAU T Y . 21 9

This is gen era ll y a sign of con stitu ti onal we ak

n ess ,
so whenever it oc curs the hea lth sh oul d
al ways receive special att en tion . S ometim es it is
“ ”
a question o f nerves .

Friction and a dail y bath are the best remedi es

for rend erin g the skin in general firm an d fi ne in

Trea t men t f or s tou tn ess .

A co u rse o f mas sage ,

pl enty of mu sc ular
exercis e a rest ri ct ed diet, litt l e sl eep on a hard
,

mattres s cyc l ing riding walking rowing

, , , , , golfin g,
and T u rkis h bath s .

“ “
I t is eas ier to ta ke 0 3 flesh t han it is to put
”
i t on , I have found by experience ; but the bes t
t reatm en t is to sleep as much and as often as

pos s ible ; to a rt as m uch of the most nouris hin g

food as t he system will as si mil ate ; to es chew

nervous ex ci temen t brain work , , and mus cul ar
e xercise ; to get as mu ch fres h air as poss ible ,

and as much lau hter g to m aintain an equa ble

220 B EAU T Y CU L T U RE .

temperament a contented mind and a tendency to

, ,

general indolence . A course of m assage and some

kinds of medicated baths will greatly help this
treatment . B athing the neck and bosom in cold
water for ten minutes daily and then rubbing i n ,

warm olive o il , al mond o il , or any good skin

food will devel o p this portion
,
of the body i n
“
time but fattening up is always a slow process .

FAC I AL M ASSA G E .

There are several systems of facial m assage now

i n vogue but the great d isadvantage i n some
, of

them is the fact that the manipulation being, t oo

S Up erficial , the skin is apt to become loose and

wrinkled . I n the establishment set on foot and
,

personal ly managed by M rs Pomeroy at . 29 B ond

S treet this point has been carefully studied how

, ,

ever and all the work is done by masseuses who

,

have been specially trained for the purpose and ,

ther efore understand how t o k n ea d t/ze m u s cl es that

l ie bel ow t/t e f
s u r ace This manipulation of the
face tends to do away with wri nkles . The P o m e
ro s stem of facial tr eatme n t, bein g based u po n
y y
P RACTI CAL H I N T S F O R P E RSO N AL B EAU TY . 221

physiol ogical an d hygieni c prin cipl es thro ughout ,

recom mends itself to every woman whos e co m

pl exion is defective . The process cons ists in

stea ming the face by m ean s of a Turkish face
bath after which i t is s meared wi th skin food
,
-
,

mas s ag ed ,
rubbed wi th o atm eal ,
and , fi nally ,

squirted with an ast ringent l otion that is

allowed to d ry on . The face bath
-
,
et c , can all

be obtai ned at a m od erate cost for home treat

men t.
 ’
L EN VO I .

C om e with m e com e o with m

on n e

A d l arn i co mi g ; l t m free
n e n n e e

Thy sp irit i t o erity n v .

Di k
rn id the l ad y gra e an d sl w
,
”
sa , v o .

W rl d s
o b ehoveth th
’
u se t k n ow ee o .
!

H e d ra k the b itt er wa e belo w

n v .

D ri n k ,
!
sai d th l ad y
e l w , s ad an d s o

Worl d s l ov e b eh oveth thee to k n o w

’
.

H e l o ok ed t o h er comm an d i n g so .

Her brow was t ro blu ed , bu t h er eye

St ru ck l ar t o his so l F r al l r pl y
c e u . o e

H e d ran k th wat er s dd l y
e u en .

R i se u p i d sh e with voi wh re so g
sa , ce e n

Ed d i ed thro gh p h u Ri e up
s Be st ron g
eec . s ,

An d l arn h ow R i ght a n g s W r g
e ve e on

—E l
.

z z abetlz B arrett B rown ing .

P rin ted by Cowa n 6 ° C o .

, L im ited , P erth .
 Th e H o u s eh ol d O ra cl e .

Edited b y ALFRE D H . M I LES .

6 08 p p . , cl o th g il t , with n u m e ro us I l l u s t ra t ion s , p rice 3 0 6 4 . .

A Po pular Referee on all su bj ects of H ouseh ol d E n quiry , in cl ud in g

am o n g man y o th ers

w . H . woo n , ESQ, .

H ou s eh o l d L a w L t M
MR
an dl ord an d T en an , a t er an d
a fi mm m
.

Q WdB
M LL D
Tu mq ues s l Ca u m E te , E t c , E tc
G I FF H
.

R 1T S, A , .

it tI w
.

L
. .
. .

w PO W L E S ES Q, Barr s er-l a
-
.
. .

H ou seh o l d M ed icin e F d d F d i g th B th d B t hi g I f t oo an ee n e a an a n , n an s
d Chil d N r i g t h S i k Comm Ai lm t Ij i
. ,

an ren u s nC mm e c on en s , o on n ur es,
A id t E
, ,

H C AM
cc Et
en s , tc c.
E R O N GI LLI ES BL D
,
.
. ,

Th e H o m e F arm Th C d T tm t f F wl D k G e T k y are an rea en o o s, u c s, eese, ur e s ,

Pi g E t C t D g d Bi d
.

GO RDO N S TABLES MD R N
s, Et E ta ,d h h ld pc , tc , an o use o e ts , a s, o s, an r s .

. . . .
, ,

Th e G a rd en A C l d f W rk t b d fa en h Ym i t h Fl war o o o e on e or t e n e o er

G d th Kit h G d
.

ar en , e d h O h d c en a r en an t e rc ar
W E E ARL Y f th G d m Chr i l
.
,
’
. .
, o e ar o z on c e .

H ou s e h o l d C oo k e ry with h d d f R ip f S p Fi h E tr un re s o ec es or ou s , s n ee

J i t G m S w m V g t bl i C k y by i
.
, ,

o n s, a e, d V g ee e e a es , an e et ar a n o o er va r ous
W it i l di g
, ,
’

r er
s, nc u n
A G PAY NE A th C ki g
”
f C mm . .
, u or o o on sen se oo n .

O u r En g lis h T on g u e : t m ti g f th R l f Sp h G m m S p ll i g r n o e u es o eec , r
a ar, e n ,

H ou s eh o l d S u b j ect s t oo n um erous it mi i l d i g
to ep o se , nc u n
“
E ti u et t e,
’

H h l d Am m t F m il y Lif Th C l d l
,

d M r
“ ! “ ”
ab e of
! !
ouse o us e en s , a e, e a en ar,
W ig h e ts an a su es ,
e
” “
Ta bl es f I t t R dy R
o n eres ,
! “
u k
ec o ner,
”
Et a ,
Et c , E tc .

H ou s e M g:: D l i g with F i hi g d D ti r m by r oom,

with P i f il m
o
a n urn s n an eco ra on oo
t il Ill tr ti
,

r ces o
p a d m i ort a n ar
t c es, an nu ero us us a ons.

Pl a in an d Fa n cy Need l ework wi h I ti f C tti g O t t ns truc on s or u n u , an d

S tit h
,

nu m Il l tr ti m f P tt
ero us us E
a Et o o a ertB , c s , t c” c.

H o u s e k ee p in g i cl fi g H h ld A n t th D t i f S
ur n m ou se o ccoun s, e u es o e rvan th e
m
, ,
S h in g o vi
s io m , the Direction of t h e E tc .

Lox n ox : H U T CH I NS O N CO .
, 34 Parz n x osrxn Row .
 Un ivers ity of Cal ifornia
S O UTHERN REG IO NAL LIBRARY FACILITY
305 De Neve Drive Parkin g Lot 17 Box 95 1 388
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