Chapter X: Preface (10)

This sort is very common and very annoying to females, from the
age of fourteen and upwards, as they give the skin a dirty greasy
appearance, which no washing will remove. The vulgar opinion that
such pimples are caused by worms or grubs, is quite erroneous. The
best means of removing the worm pimple, is by squeezing out all the
thickened matter of each; for, unless you do this, it is impossible
to get rid of them, as no wash nor other application will remove
them, nor will they ever disappear of their own accord. Several
things may be useful in preventing their return. Of these, the Roman
balsam, is a safe and excellent application, and daily rubbing the
parts very gently with a soft glove, or with the warm hand.

THE SMALL RED PIMPLE.

In this species, the pimples appear singly, and are not very
numerous, and the intermediate skin is unaffected. They are most
liable to appear upon the cheeks, nose, and forehead, though they
sometimes spread over the shoulders and upper part of the breast.
Gowland’s Lotion, Kalydor, Cold Cream, and all such nostrums, ought
to be used with great caution, but prefer the three following.

BATEMAN’S SULPHUR WASH.

Break one ounce of sulphur, and pour over it
one quart of boiling water.
Allow it to infuse for twelve or fourteen hours, and apply it to
the face twice or thrice a day, for a few weeks. It is excellent
for removing the roughness of the skin which usually succeeds
pimples.

KNIGHTON’S LOTION.

Take half a drachm of liquor of potass,
three ounces of spirit of wine.
Apply to the pimples with a camel’s-hair pencil. If this be too
strong, add one half pure water to it.

DARWIN’S OINTMENT FOR PIMPLES.

Take six drachms of mercury,
six grains of flour of sulphur,
two ounces of hog’s lard.
Mix them carefully in a mortar.

THE LIVID BUTTONY PIMPLE.

The pimples, even when they do not suppurate, but especially while
they continue highly red, are always sore and tender to the touch; so
that washing, the friction of the clothes, &c. are somewhat painful.
In its most severe form, this eruption nearly covers the face,
breast, shoulders, and top of the back, but does not extend lower
than an ordinary tippet in dress.

Mr. Plumbe recommends the pimples to be pricked with a needle or a
lancet, in order to irritate them, and spur them on to suppuration.
When this has been accomplished, the matter is to be squeezed out,
and if any blueness or hardness remain, sponge the part slightly,
three or four times a day, with the following lotion.

Dissolve two grains and a half of oxymuriate of mercury in
four ounces of spirit of wine.
Keep it in a close-stopped phial for use.

BARDOLPH PIMPLE OR ERUPTION.

A careful examination of the parts, in the earlier stages of the
disease, will, in most cases, lead to the detection of small and
deep-seated collections of matter, which, upon being let out with
a needle, or the point of a lancet, will cause the swelling and
redness of the skin to disappear; and, if the fomentations of warm
water, and frictions with mild soap and a soft brush be persevered
in, along with plain diet, and abstinence from high-seasoned dishes,
pickles, cayenne, mustard, and strong liquors, a cure may, in time,
be effected.

POMADE FOR REMOVING WRINKLES.

Take two ounces of the juice of onions, the same quantity of the
white lily, the same of Narbonne honey, and an ounce of white wax;
put the whole into a new earthen pipkin till the wax is melted;
take the pipkin off the fire, and, in order to mix the whole well
together, keep stirring it with a wooden spatula till it grows quite
cold. You will then have an excellent ointment for removing wrinkles.
It must be applied at night, on going to bed, and not wiped off till
the morning.

LOTION FOR WRINKLES.

Take the second water of barley, and strain it through a piece of
fine linen; add a few drops of balm of Mecca; shake the bottle for a
considerable time, till the balm is entirely incorporated with the
water, when it will assume a somewhat turbid and whitish appearance.

This is an excellent wash for beautifying the face, and preserving
the freshness of youth. If used only once a day, it takes away
wrinkles, and gives surprising brilliancy to the skin. Before it is
applied, the face ought to be washed with rain-water.

PERSPIRATION OF THE HANDS AND FEET.

The temporary removal of disagreeable perspiration in the hands or
the feet, may sometimes be useful. The hands may be dipped in cold
water, and if rose-water is at hand, it will be still better. Washing
the hands with the infusion, or the tincture of galls, or oak bark,
into which a little eau de Cologne, or any other perfume, may be
put, is an excellent application of the same kind in bad cases. With
respect to the feet, dusting them with very fine powder of galls, or
of alum, or, what is, perhaps, still better, soaking the stockings
with any perfumed soap till they are quite saturated, and then
allowing them to dry thoroughly before putting them on, may be safely
and effectually tried.

COLOURS IN DRESS.

Females of fair complexion ought to wear the purest white; they
should choose light and brilliant colours, such as rose, azure, light
yellow, &c. These colours heighten the lustre of their complexion,
which if accompanied with darker colours, would frequently have the
appearance of alabaster, without life and without expression.

On the contrary, women of a dark complexion, who dress in such
colours as we too frequently see them do, cause their skin to appear
black, dull, and tanned. They ought, therefore, to avoid wearing
linen or laces of too brilliant a white; they ought to avoid white
robes, and rose-colour, or light-blue ribbons, which form too
disagreeable a contrast with their complexions.

Fair women cannot be too careful to correct, by light colours, the
paleness of their complexions; and dark women, by stronger colours,
the somewhat yellow tint of their complexion.

Crimson is extremely handsome at night, when it may be substituted
for rose-colour, which loses its charms by candle-light; but this
crimson, seen by day, spoils the most beautiful complexion; no colour
whatever strips it so completely of all its attractions. Pale yellow,
on the contrary, is often very handsome by day, and is perfectly
suited to people who have a fine complexion; but at night it appears
dirty, and tarnishes the lustre of the complexion, to which it is
designed to add brilliancy.

Green is the only colour which should be worn as a summer veil.

USE OF PAINTS.

The vegetable substances which furnish rouge, are red sandal-wood,
root of orchanet, cochineal, Brazil wood, and especially the bastard
saffron, which yields a very beautiful colour, when it is mixed with
a sufficient quantity of talc. Some perfumers compose vegetable
rouge, for which they take vinegar as the excipient. These reds are
liable to injure the beauty of the skin; it is more advisable to
mix them with oily or unctuous matter, and to form salves. For this
purpose, you may employ balm of Mecca, butter of cacao, spermaceti,
oil of bhen, &c.

The red powders, above described, are best put on by a fine
camel-hair pencil. The colours in the dishes, wools, and green
papers, are commonly laid on by the tip of the little finger,
previously wetted.

The Spanish wool, the papers, and the English-made Portuguese dishes,
are all made from a moss-like drug, from Turkey, called safflower,
well known to scarlet dyers, &c.

WHITE PAINTS.

White paints are extracted from minerals, more or less pernicious,
but always corrosive. They affect the eyes, which swell and inflame,
and are rendered painful and watery. They change the texture of the
skin, on which they produce pimples, and cause rheums; attack the
teeth, make them ache, destroy the enamel, and loosen them.

TO MAKE TALC WHITE.

Take a piece of the talc white, known by the name of Briançon chalk;
choose it of a pearl grey colour, and rasp it gently with a piece of
dog’s skin; after this, sift it through a sieve of very fine silk,
and put this powder into a pint of good distilled vinegar, in which
leave it for a fortnight, taking care to shake the bottle or pot
several times each day, except the last, on which it must not be
disturbed; pour off the vinegar, so as to leave the chalk behind in
the bottle, into which pour very clean water that has been filtered;
throw the whole into a clean pan, and stir the water well with a
wooden spatula; let the powder settle again to the bottom; pour the
water gently off, and wash the powder six or seven times, taking care
always to make use of filtered water. When the powder is as soft
and as white as you would wish, dry it in a place where it is not
exposed to the dust; sift it through a silken sieve, which will make
it still finer. It may be either left in powder, or wetted and formed
into cakes, like those sold by the perfumers. One pint of vinegar is
sufficient to dissolve a pound of talc.

This white may be used in the same manner as carmine, dipping your
finger, or a piece of paper, or what is preferable to either, a
hare’s foot, prepared for the purpose in ointment, and putting upon
it about a grain of this white, which will not be removed, even by
perspiration. If the ointment with which it is applied is properly
made, this white does no injury to the face. The same ingredients may
be used for making rouge.

COSMETIC JUICE.

Make a hole in a lemon, fill it up with sugar candy, and close it
nicely with gold leaf, applied over the rind that was cut out; then
roast the lemon in hot ashes. When desirous of using the juice,
squeeze out a little through the hole already made, and wash the face
with a napkin wetted therewith. This juice is said to cleanse the
skin, and brighten the complexion marvellously.

BALSAM FOR CHAPPED LIPS.

Take two tea-spoonsful of clarified honey,
and a few drops of lavender-water, or any other
agreeable perfume.
Mix, and anoint the parts frequently. If the hands are affected,
anoint them all over on going to bed, wearing your gloves all
night, and wash with tepid milk and water in the morning. A night
or two will effect a cure.

Another excellent preparation is,

LADY CONYNGHAM’S LIP-HONEY.

Take two ounces of fine honey,
one ounce of purified wax,
half an ounce of silver litharge,
the same quantity of myrrh.
Mix over a slow fire, and add milk of roses, Eau de Cologne, or any
other perfume you may prefer, and keep for use.

EXCELLENT TOOTH-BRUSH.

Procure two or three dozen of the fresh roots of marsh-mallows, and
dry them carefully in the shade, so that they may not shrivel. They
must be chosen about as thick as a cane, and cut to five or six
inches long, then with a mallet bruise the ends of them very gently,
for about half an inch down, in order to form a brush. Then take two
ounces of dragon’s blood, four ounces of highly rectified spirit, and
half an ounce of fresh conserve of roses, and put them in a glazed
pipkin or pan, to dissolve over a gentle fire. When dissolved, put
in your prepared mallow-roots, stirring them to make them take the
dye equally. Continue this till no moisture remains in the vessel,
when the roots will be hard, dry, and fit for use. If you take care
of them, they will last you a considerable time. When you use this
toothbrush, it may be dipped in the following:

WASH FOR THE TEETH AND GUMS.

Take the juice of half a lemon,
a spoonful of very rough claret or port wine,
ten grains of sulphate of quinine,
a few drops of Eau de Cologne, or oil of bergamot.
Mix, and keep in a well-stopped phial for use.

LOTION FOR TOOTH-ACHE.

Put two drams of camphor into an ounce of the oil of turpentine,
and let it dissolve; when it will be fit for use.

Cajeput oil is another valuable remedy for allaying the pain, when
put into the hollow of the tooth. The most effectual, however, of
all the remedies for destroying the sensibility of the nerve, is the
putting of a red hot wire into the hollow, which will destroy the
nerve, and prevent the return of the pain.

MUCILAGE FOR TOOTH-ACHE.

Take one dram of the powdered leaves of pyrethrum,
and a sufficient quantity of gum arabic mucilage.
Make a mass, divide it into twelve portions, and take one into the
mouth, and let it lie till dissolved, as occasion requires.

If an external application is preferred, the following may be rubbed
on the outside of the jaw.

LINIMENT FOR TOOTH-ACHE.

Take an ounce of spirit of camphor,
three drams of liquid ammonia,
ten drops of essential oil of bergamot.
Mix them in a phial for use.

A blister placed behind the ear, or burning the lap of the
ear with a cloth dipped in boiling water, will often remove
the pain entirely.

TO PREVENT THE TOOTH-ACHE.

Rub well the teeth and gums with a hard tooth-brush, using the
flowers of sulphur as a tooth powder, every night on going to bed;
and if it is done after dinner it will be best: this is an excellent
preservative to the teeth, and void of any unpleasant smell.

A RADICAL CURE FOR THE TOOTH-ACHE.

Use as a tooth powder the Spanish snuff called Sabella, and it will
clean the teeth as well as any other powder, and totally prevent the
tooth-ache; and make a regular practice of washing behind the ears
with cold water every morning; the remedy is infallible.

REMEDY FOR BAD BREATH.

Take from five to ten drops of muriatic acid, in
an ale glassful of barley-water, and add
a little lemon juice and lemon peel to flavour.
Mix for a draught, to be taken three times a day, for a month
or six weeks at least, and, if effectual, it may be continued
occasionally.

Another medicine of this kind, which has often proved beneficial
when the stomach has been wrong, and the bowels costive, is, the

DRAUGHT FOR BAD BREATH WITH COSTIVENESS.

Take one dram of sulphate of magnesia,
two drams of tincture of calumba,
an ounce and a half of infusion of roses.
Make a draught, to be taken every morning or every other
morning, an hour before breakfast, for at least a month.

PALMA CHRISTI OIL FOR THICKENING THE HAIR.

Take an ounce of Palma Christi oil,
a sufficient quantity of oil of bergamot or lavender
to scent it.
Apply it morning and evening for three months, or as long
as it may be necessary, to the parts where you want the
hair to grow thick and luxuriant.

MACASSAR OIL.

Take three quarts of common oil,
half a pint of spirit of wine,
three ounces of cinnamon powder,
two ounces of bergamot.
Put it in a large pipkin, and give it a good heat. When it
is off the fire, add three or four pieces of alkanet root,
and keep it closely covered for several hours. Filter it
through a funnel lined with blotting paper. The commonest
oil is used; and, when rancid, it is remedied by putting in
two or three slices of an onion.

EXCELLENT HAIR OIL.

Boil half a pound of green southern wood, in
a pint and a half of sweet oil, and
half a pint of port wine.
When sufficiently boiled, remove it from the fire, and
strain the liquor through a linen bag. Repeat this
operation three times, with fresh southern wood; and the
last time add to the strained materials, two ounces of
bear’s grease. It is excellent for promoting the growth of
the hair, and preventing baldness.

LYE FOR STRENGTHENING THE HAIR.

Take two handsful of the root of hemp,
same quantity of the roots of a maiden vine,
same quantity of the cores of soft cabbages.
Dry and burn them, and make a lye of the ashes. Before
you wash the hair with this lye, it should be well rubbed
with honey, and this method persisted in for three days at
least.

INFALLIBLE CORN-PLASTER.

Take two ounces of gum ammoniac,
two ounces of yellow wax,
six drams of verdigris.
Melt them together, and spread the composition on a bit
of soft leather, or a piece of linen. Cut away as much of
the corn as you can with a knife, before you apply the
plaster, which must be renewed in a fortnight, if the corn
is not by that time gone.

TO CLEAN SILKS, COTTONS, AND WOOLLENS,
_without damage to their texture or colour_.

Grate raw potatoes to a fine pulp in clean water, and pass the liquid
matter through a coarse sieve, into another vessel of water; let
the mixture stand till the fine white particles of the potatoes are
precipitated, then pour the mucilaginous liquor from the fecula, and
preserve the liquor for use. The article to be cleaned should then
be laid on a linen cloth, on a table, and having provided a clean
sponge, dip it into the potatoe liquor, and apply it to the article
to be cleaned, till the dirt is perfectly separated; then wash it in
clean water several times. Two middle-sized potatoes will be enough
for a pint of water. The coarse pulp, which does not pass through
the sieve, is of great use in cleaning worsted curtains, tapestry,
carpets, and other coarse goods. The mucilaginous liquor will clean
all sorts of silk, cotton, or woollen goods, without hurting or
spoiling the colour; it may be also used in cleaning oil paintings,
or furniture that is soiled. Dirtied painted wainscots may be cleaned
by wetting a sponge in the liquor, then dipping it in a little clean
sand, and afterwards rubbing the wainscot with it.

TO PRESERVE FURS.

When laying by muffs and tippets for the summer, if a tallow candle
be placed on or near them, all danger of moths, &c. will be obviated.

TO PRESERVE CLOTHES FROM MOTHS, &C.

Put cedar shavings, or clippings of Russia leather, among the drawers
and shelves where the clothes are kept. Pieces of camphor, or tallow
candle, wrapt up in paper, will preserve furs and woollens from
moths; and lavender, roses, and flowers and perfumes of every kind,
are useful as well as agreeable in keeping away moths and worms.

VARNISH FOR OLD STRAW OR CHIP HATS.

Take half an ounce of the best black sealing-wax, bruise it, and put
it to two ounces of spirit of turpentine; melt them very gently, by
placing the bottle that holds them in boiling water, or near a fire.
When all the wax is melted, lay it on warm with a fine hair brush
near the fire or in the sun. It will not only give a beautiful gloss
and stiffness to the hats, but make them resist wet.

TO TAKE GREASE SPOTS OUT OF SILK.

Dip a clean piece of flannel into spirits of turpentine, and rub the
spots until they disappear, which will soon be the case. Do not be
sparing of the turpentine, as it will all evaporate, and leave no
mark or stain behind.

TO TAKE OUT STAINS FROM CLOTH OR SILK.

Pound French chalk fine, mix with lavender-water to the thickness of
mustard. Put it on the stain; rub it soft with the finger or palm of
the hand. Put a sheet of blotting and brown paper on the top, and
smooth it with an iron milk-warm.

TO EXTRACT GREASE SPOTS FROM SILKS, AND COLOURED MUSLINS, &c.

Scrape French chalk, put it on the grease spot, and hold it near the
fire, or over a warm iron, or water-plate, filled with boiling water.
The grease will melt, and the French chalk absorb it; brush or rub it
off. Repeat if necessary.

TO TAKE STAINS OUT OF SILK.

Mix together in a phial, 2 oz. of essence of lemon, 1 oz. of oil of
turpentine.

Grease and other spots in silks, are to be rubbed gently with a linen
rag dipped in the above composition.

TO TAKE SPOTS OF PAINT FROM CLOTH, SILK, &c.

Dip a pen in spirit of turpentine, and transfer it to the paint spot,
in sufficient quantity to discharge the oil and gluten. Let it stand
some hours, then rub it.

For large or numerous spots, apply the spirit of turpentine with a
sponge, if possible, before it is become dry.

TO WASH CHINTZ.

Take two pounds of rice, boil it in two gallons of water till soft;
then pour the whole into a tub; let it stand till about the warmth
in general used for coloured linens; then put the chintz in, and use
the rice instead of soap, wash it in this, till the dirt appears to
be out, then boil the same quantity as above, but strain the rice
from the water, and wash it in warm clear water. Wash in this till
quite clean; afterwards rinse it in the water which the rice has been
boiled in, and this will answer the end of starch, and no dew will
affect it. If a gown, it must be taken to pieces, and when dried, be
careful to hang it as smooth as possible;—after it is dry, rub it
with a smooth stone, but use no iron.

TO WASH FINE LACE OR LINEN.

Take a gallon of furze blossoms and burn them to ashes, then boil
them in six quarts of soft water; this, when fine, use in washing
with the suds, as occasion requires, and the linen, &c. will not only
be exceedingly white, but it is done with half the soap, and little
trouble.

TO CLEAN BLACK AND WHITE SARCENETS.

Lay these smooth and even upon a board, spread a little soap over
the dirty places; then make a lather with Castille soap, and with a
common brush, dip it in, pass it over the long way, and repeat it in
this manner, till one side is sufficiently scoured; use the other in
the same manner; then put it into hot water, and there let it lie,
till you have prepared some cold water, wherein a small quantity of
gum arabic has been dissolved. Now rinse them well, take them out and
fold them, pressing out the water with the hands on the board, and
keeping them under the hands till they are dry; at which time, have
brimstone ready to dry them over, till they are ready for smoothing,
which must be done on the right side, with a moderate hot iron.

TO WASH AND STAIN TIFFANIES.

Let the hems of the tiffanies be at first only a little soaped, then
having a lather of soap, put them into it hot, and wash them very
gently for fear they should be crumpled; and when they are clean,
rinse them in warm water, in which a little gum arabic has been
dissolved, keeping them from the air as much as possible; then add
a lump of starch, wet the tiffanies with a soft linen rag, and fold
them up in a clean cloth, pressing them till they are near dry; after
which put them near the fire, and finish the drying over brimstone;
then shape them properly by gently ironing them.

TO WASH AND STARCH LAWNS.

Lawns may be done in the same manner as the former, only observe to
iron them on the wrong side, and use gum arabic water instead of
starch, and, according to what has been directed for sarcenets, any
coloured silks may be starched, abating or augmenting the gum water,
as may be thought fit, according to the stiffness intended.

TO CLEAN AND STARCH POINT LACE.

Fix the lace in a prepared tent, draw it straight, make a warm lather
of Castille soap, and, with a fine brush dipped in, rub over the
point gently; and when it is clean on one side, do the same to the
other; then throw some clean water on it, in which a little alum has
been dissolved, to take off the suds, and having some thin starch, go
over with the same on the wrong side, and iron it on the same side
when dry, then open it with a bodkin, and set it in order.

To clean point lace, if not very dirty, without washing; fix it in
a tent as the former, and go over with fine bread, the crust being
pared off, and when it is done, dust out the crumbs, &c.

TO CLEAN WHITE VEILS.

Put the veil in a solution of white soap, and let it simmer a quarter
of an hour. Squeeze it in some warm water and soap, till quite clean.
Rinse it from soap, and then in clean cold water, in which is a
drop of liquid blue. Then pour boiling water upon a tea-spoonful of
starch, run the veil through this, and clear it well, by clapping it.
Afterwards pin it out, keeping the edges straight and even.

TO CLEAN BLACK VEILS.

Pass them through a warm liquor of bullock’s gall and water; rinse in
cold water; then take a small piece of glue, pour boiling water on
it, and pass the veil through it; clap it, and frame it to dry.

TO CLEAN WHITE SATIN AND FLOWERED SILKS.

Mix sifted stale bread crumbs with powder-blue, and rub it thoroughly
all over, then shake it well, and dust it with clean soft cloths.
Afterwards, where there are any gold or silver flowers, take a piece
of crimson in grain velvet, rub the flowers with it, which will
restore them to their original lustre.

_Another Method._

Pass them through a solution of fine hard soap, at a hand heat,
drawing them through the hand. Rinse in lukewarm water, dry and
finish by pinning out. Brush the flossy or bright side with a clean
clothes brush, the way of the nap. Finish them by dipping a sponge
into a size, made by boiling isinglass in water, and rub the wrong
side. Rinse out a second time, and brush and dry near a fire, or in a
warm room.

Silks may be treated in the same way, but not brushed. If the silks
are for dyeing, instead of passing them through a solution of soap
and water, they must be boiled off; but if the silks are very stout,
the water must only be of heat sufficient to extract the dirt, and
when rinsed in warm water they are in a state for the dye.

_Another Method._

Strew French chalk over them, and brush it off with a hard brush once
or twice.

TO CLEAN COLOURED SILKS OF ALL KINDS.

Put some soft soap into boiling water, and beat it till dissolved in
a strong lather. At a hand heat put in the article. If strong, it may
be rubbed as in washing; rinse it quickly in warm water, and add oil
of vitriol, sufficient to give another water a sourish taste, if for
bright yellows, crimsons, maroons, and scarlets; but for oranges,
fawns, browns, or their shades, use no acid. For bright scarlet use
a solution of tin. Gently squeeze, and then roll it in a coarse
sheet, and wring it. Hang it in a warm room to dry, and finish it by
calendering or mangling.

For pinks, rose colours, and thin shades, &c., instead of oil of
vitriol, or solution of tin, prefer lemon juice, or white tartar, or
vinegar.

For blues, purples, and their shades, add a small quantity of
American pearl-ash; it will restore the colours. Wash the articles
like a linen garment, but instead of wringing, gently squeeze and
sheet them, and when dry, finish them with fine gum water, or
dissolved isinglass, to which add some pearl-ash, rubbed on the wrong
side, then pin them out.

Blues of all shades are dyed with archil, and afterwards dipped
in a vat; twice cleaning with pearl-ash, restores the colour. For
olive greens, a small quantity of verdigris dissolved in water, or
a solution of copper, mixed with the water, will revive the colour
again.

TO CLEAN BLACK SILKS.

To bullock’s gall, add boiling water sufficient to make it warm, and
with a clean sponge, rub the silk well on both sides, squeeze it well
out, and proceed again in like manner. Rinse it in spring water, and
change the water till perfectly clean, dry it in the air, and pin it
out on a table; but first dip the sponge in glue water, and rub it on
the wrong side; then dry it before a fire.

TO DIP RUSTY BLACK SILKS.

If it requires to be red dyed, boil logwood; and in half an hour,
put in the silk, and let it simmer half an hour. Take it out, and
dissolve a little blue vitriol and green copperas, cool the copper,
let it simmer half an hour, then dry it over a stick in the air. If
not red dyed, pin it out, and rinse it in spring water, in which half
a tea-spoonful of oil of vitriol has been put. Work it about five
minutes, rinse it in cold for ten minutes, rinsing in cold water. For
a blue cast, put water, and finish it by pinning and rubbing it with
gum water.

TO CLEAN SILK STOCKINGS.

Wash with soap and water; and simmer them in the same; put one drop
of liquid blue, into a pan of cold spring water, run the stockings
through this a minute or two, and dry them. For a pink cast, put one
or two drops of saturated pink dye into cold water, and rinse them
through this. For a flesh-colour, add a little rose-pink in a thin
soap liquor, rub them with clean flannel, and calender or mangle them.

TO CLEANSE FEATHERS FROM ANIMAL OIL.

Mix well with a gallon of clean water, a pound of quick lime; and,
when the lime is precipitated in fine powder, pour off the clear
lime-water for use, at the time it is wanted. Put the feathers to be
cleaned in a tub, and add to them a sufficient quantity of the clear
lime-water, so as to cover them about three inches. The feathers,
when thoroughly moistened, will sink down, and should remain in the
lime-water for three or four days; after which, the foul liquor
should be separated from them by laying them on a sieve. Afterwards,
well wash them in clean water, and dry them on nets, about the same
fineness as cabbage-nets. Shake them from time to time, on the nets;
as they dry, they will fall through the mashes, when collect them for
use. The admission of air will be serviceable in the drying, and the
whole process may be completed in about three weeks. The feathers,
thus prepared, want nothing further than beating, to be used either
for beds, bolsters, pillows, &c.

TO BLEACH WOOL, SILKS, STRAW BONNETS, &c.

Put a chafing-dish with some lighted charcoal into a close room,
or large box; then strew an ounce or two of powdered brimstone on
the hot coals. Hang the articles in the room or box, make the door
fast, and let them hang some hours. Fine coloured woollens are thus
sulphured before dyed, and straw bonnets are thus bleached.

THE YOUNG LADIES’ MAID.

In large families, where there are young ladies who require attendance, a maid is appointed to wait on all, or perhaps each lady has a maid. The duties of these are in all respects the same as the ladies’-maid; we therefore refer them to the directions given to her, for the necessary instructions. As this situation is considered merely initiatory to a better, and is occupied, generally, by an upper house-maid, or a young woman on her outset in life, the salary is somewhat less than that of a well qualified servant; and the perquisites, including that of her mistress’ left-off clothes, are also reckoned at the same rate.

THE HEAD NURSE.

As the hopes of families, and the comfort and happiness of parents are confided to the charge of females who superintend nurseries of children, no duties are more important, and none require more incessant and unremitting care and anxiety. Every symptom of approaching disease should be watched and reported to the parents or medical attendant of the family, and in this respect, nothing should be concealed or deferred till remedies are too late. In the daily washings, the state of the skin should be examined and noticed, as well as the tongue and the appetite, and spirits; and above all things, all chances of accident or juvenile mischief should be guarded against and removed. Windows should be fenced with bars, or the lower sashes nailed down; knives and sharp instruments should be kept out of reach; scalding water and dangerous ingredients secured from access; ponds and rivers fenced in; ladders removed; and fire-places guarded by well-fastened wire fenders.

This important Servant ought to be of a lively and cheerful disposition, perfectly good tempered, and clean and neat in her habits and person. She ought also to have been accustomed to the care and management of young children, as all the junior branches of the family are intrusted to her care and superintendence, confiding in her skill, experience, and attention. She usually takes the sole charge of the infant from its birth, when the parent suckles it: to assist her in the management of this and the other children in the nursery, she has under nurses assigned her, who are entirely under her controul.

The youngest nurse, or nursery-maid, usually rises about 6 o’clock to light the fire, and do the household work of the nursery before the children are up, perhaps about seven o’clock, at which time the head nurse is dressed, and ready to bathe and wash them all over with a sponge and warm water; after which they are rubbed quite dry and dressed. This process, when there are several children, usually occupies the nurses an hour, or an hour and a half, when their breakfast is got ready, and the children are placed at their meal in the most peaceable and orderly manner. After breakfast, if the weather be favourable, the children are taken out by the assistant nurse, or nursery maid, for air and exercise, an hour or perhaps two, but not so long as to fatigue either of them. On their return, their hands and feet are washed, if damp or dirty, after which they attend to their lessons till dinner time. After dinner, if it be fine weather, the children are again taken abroad for air and exercise, and on their return again, after having their hands and feet washed, if necessary, they are in due time, about eight o’clock, dressed and put to bed. The Head Nurse finds ample employment during the whole day, in paying due attention to her infant charge, in giving directions, and in seeing that the whole business of the nursery is properly executed.

The sleeping room of the Nursery should be spacious, lofty, dry, airy, and not suffered to be inhabited in the day time. No servants should sleep in the same room, nor ought any thing to be done there that may contaminate the air, in which so great a portion of infantine life is to be spent. The consequences of vitiated air in bed-rooms are often fatal. Feather-beds and bed-curtains ought to be proscribed, as tending to debility; neither ought the beds to be placed too low, as the most pernicious stratum of air is that nearest the floor.

The air of the sleeping room ought to be changed immediately on the children’s leaving the room, by opening the windows and doors; the beds ought, also, to be shaken up and left to cool; the slops cleared away; and every thing made and kept perfectly clean. In damp or bad weather, a fire must be made in the room to purify the air.

The management of infant children, has a more important influence on the health and happiness of man, than is generally imagined; as, at this period of existence, the foundation is laid either for irremediable debility, or for _mental_ and _bodily_ vigour. An Infant, consequently requires considerable care, and indefatigable personal attention.

Its management for the first two months, cannot be too gentle, kind, or tender. Nothing should be done at first that can give it uneasiness; therefore, next to its health and well-being, regard should be had to its disposition, and the regulation of its temper; with this view also, the most rational way is to let the infant enjoy all the liberty it possibly can, without being restrained by its clothing, or starved by system. To set a child upright before the end of the first month is hurtful: afterwards the nurse may begin to set it up and dance it by degrees. It must be kept as dry as possible.

The clothing should be very light, and not too long, so that the legs may be got at with ease, in order to have them often rubbed in the day, with a warm hand, or flannel, and particularly the inside of them. Rubbing the child all over takes off scurf, and promotes the circulation of the blood.

A nurse ought to keep a child as little in her arms as possible, lest the legs should be cramped, and the toes turned inwards. Let her always keep the child’s legs loose. The oftener the posture is changed, the better.

For the first fortnight or three weeks it should be always laid on a bed, except when taken up to supply its wants, which will give it habits of cleanliness at a very early age.

It may be very comfortably laid on a cushion, where it can be in no danger of falling, nor of any thing falling on it. Some one should sit by it, and divert and cheer it, if necessary, and take it up instantly, when it expresses the least dissatisfaction. A nurse should make it a strict rule, that the child should be in her own view, in whatever she may be employed.

By slow degrees, the infant may be accustomed to exercise, both within doors and in the open air: but it never should be moved about immediately after sucking or feeding, as that will be apt to sicken it. Exercise should be given it by carrying it about, and gently dandling it in the arms; tossing an infant about, and exercising it in the open air, in fine weather, is of the greatest service to it, in preventing distortion. In cities, children ought not to be kept in hot rooms, but to have as much air as possible; want of exercise being the cause of rickets, large heads, weak joints, a contracted breast, and diseased lungs, besides a numerous train of evils.

Endeavour to harden the body, but without resorting to violent means. A child is constitutionally weak and irritable to a high degree; hence we should endeavour to diminish this irritability, in order to procure it the greatest happiness of life, a firm body, whence may result a sound mind.

Such management is highly advantageous, as it will enable children to support every species of fatigue and hardship, when they become adults.

The plan of hardening children may, however, be carried to excess. An extravagant attempt to strengthen youth, deprives them of all their natural susceptibility of excitement, renders them insensible, and produces many bad effects, while they only acquire temporary energy, which decreases as they advance in years, and is attended with an early loss of their primitive vigour.

All attempts to render children hardy must, therefore, be made by gradual advances: for nature admits of no sudden transition. When children have once been accustomed to a hardy system of education, such a plan must be strictly adhered to.

The child’s skin is to be kept perfectly clean by washing its limbs morning and evening, and likewise its neck and ears; beginning with warm water, till, by degrees, it will not only bear, but like to be washed with cold.

After it is a month old, if it has no cough, fever, nor eruption, the bath should be colder and colder (if the season be mild) and by degrees it may be used as it comes from the spring. After carefully drying the whole body, head, and limbs, a second dry soft cloth, somewhat warmed, should be gently used, to take all the damp from the wrinkles or soft parts of the body. Then rub the limbs; but when the body is rubbed, take special care not to press upon the stomach or belly. On these parts, the hand should move in a circle, because the bowels lie in that direction. If the skin be chafed, hair-powder is to be used. The utmost tenderness is necessary in drying the head; and a small, soft, brush, lightly applied, is safer than a comb.

Clean cloths, every morning and evening, will tend greatly to a child’s health and comfort.

The dress of the child by day should be light and loose, and for the night, it may be a shirt, a blanket to tie on, and a thin gown to tie over the blanket.

The unnecessary haste in which some nurses are accustomed to dress children, cannot be too strongly reprehended. In addition to this hurried dressing, its clothes are often injuriously tight. Pins should never be used in an infant’s clothes; and every string should be so loosely tied, that two fingers may be introduced under it. Bandages round the head should be strictly forbidden, for to this error many instances of idiotism, fits, and deformity, may be traced.

Never allow the infant to be held opposite to open doors and windows. The air is beneficial, when it is in motion, and the weather is moderate, but it should always have some covering besides that which it wears in the house, when taken out; and it must not be laid on the cold ground, nor allowed to step on it, when it begins to use its feet. The intense heat of a summer day should likewise be avoided; excessive heat or cold being equally injurious.

The wisest maxim in treating infants with respect to food and drink, is to follow the simple dictates of nature; yet some nurses give them wine, spirits, spices, sugar, &c. which the stomach of a grown person would reject. At all times the utmost care will be necessary to avoid hurting its gums when feeding it. Its food should be gradually cooled in a saucer, and it should be given to it in a small spoon, only half filled, which will save its clothes from being soiled, and keep its bosom dry. Let it swallow one small portion, before another is offered, and raise its head, that it may pass the gullet easily. Never entice or press it to take more, if it once refuses, for it knows best when it has had enough.

As long as it has its mother’s milk, no other sustenance will be wanting, if she be a good nurse. If there should be the least doubt of her having milk enough, the child may have cow’s milk, mixed with two-thirds soft boiled water, presented to its lips very frequently; but it never should be urged to accept it.

Rising early in the morning is good for all children, provided they awake of themselves, which they generally do; but they ought never to be waked out of their sleep. As soon as possible, however, they should be brought to regular sleep in the day.

Children, till they are two or three years’ old, must never be suffered to walk so long at a time as to be weary.

In laying a child to sleep, it should be placed on the right side oftener than on the left. Laying it on its back when it is awake, is enough of that posture, in which alone it can move its legs and arms with freedom.

Infants cannot sleep too long; and it is a favourable symptom when they enjoy calm and continued rest, of which they should by no means be deprived, as this is the greatest support granted to them by nature. Sleep promotes a more calm and uniform circulation of the blood, and it facilitates assimilation of the nutriment received. The horizontal posture, likewise, is the most favourable to the growth and bodily developement of the infant.

Sleep ought to be in proportion to the age of the infant, and this salutary refreshment should fill up the greater part of a child’s existence. After the age of six months, the periods of sleep, as well as all other animal functions, may, in some degree, be regulated; yet, even then, a child should be suffered to sleep the whole night, and several hours both in the morning and afternoon. Nurses should endeavour to accustom infants, from the time of their birth, to sleep in the night in preference to the day, and for this purpose they will remove all external impressions which may disturb their rest, but especially they ought to avoid obeying every call for taking them up, and giving food at improper times.

To awaken children from their sleep with a noise, or in an impetuous manner, is certainly injudicious and hurtful; nor is it proper to carry them from a dark room immediately into a glaring light, against a dazzling wall; for the sudden impression of light debilitates the organs of vision, and causes weak eyes from early infancy.

Infants are sometimes very restless at night, which is generally owing either to their eating a heavy supper, to their tight night-clothes, or their being over-heated by too many blankets.

Wages 18_l._ to 25_l._ Perquisites at christenings.

_Diseases of Children, &c._

THE YELLOW GUM.

The yellow gum is known by a yellow tinge of the skin, with
languor and a tendency to sleep. It is to be relieved by giving a
tea-spoonful or more of castor oil, to clear the intestines. When
the disease does not give way to this treatment, three drops of
antimonial wine are to be given in a tea-spoonful of water, so as to
prove emetic. In about eight or ten hours, this is to be followed by
½ a grain of calomel, or four grains of rhubarb.

VOMITING.

When the food is vomited in an unaltered state, it is generally a
sign of over feeding: but when the vomiting is bilious, or when
the food is partly digested, the diet ought to be changed, and the
bowels opened by one grain of calomel, given in sugar. This is to be
followed by a tea-spoonful of castor oil on the following morning. If
the vomiting should still continue, give a gentle emetic, and the
calomel powder (containing one or two grains, according to the age)
soon afterwards. If there be much irritation, apply a blister to
the stomach; and, if possible, give a tea-spoonful of the saline
medicine, in a state of effervescence, and containing two drops of
laudanum.

HICCUPS.

These generally arise from acidity in the stomach, and may be
remedied by the administration of eight grains of prepared chalk,
with two grains of powdered rhubarb, given in a little syrup,
or gruel. If very severe, the stomach is to be rubbed with soap
liniment, or opodeldoc, to which a little laudanum has been added.

GRIPING AND FLATULENCY.

These are known by continual crying, restlessness, and drawing up
of the legs. When attended by diarrhœa and green stools, they are
to be relieved, in general, by the administration of a few grains
of rhubarb and magnesia. If sour belchings, &c. still continue,
a tea-spoonful of very weak solution of tartar emetic should be
given every quarter of an hour, until the child vomits. After this,
particularly if there be any purging, it may be proper to give a
little rhubarb and magnesia again, and now and then a little chalk
mixture.

_Absorbent Mixture._

If the pains are very great, so as to make the child scream
violently, two tea-spoonfuls of the following mixture, with
five or six drops of laudanum, may be given directly:—

Mix together, prepared chalk, 1 scruple,
tincture of caraway seeds, 3 drams,
compound spirit of lavender, 1 do.
and of peppermint water, 2 oz.

As soon as there is diminution of pain, a purgative should
be given, particularly if the bowels happen to be in a
costive state. The best will be castor oil. The above mixture
may afterwards be occasionally continued, but without the
laudanum.

_Anodyne Plaster._

The late Dr. Clarke, of Burlington Street, frequently ordered
the following plaster to be applied over the bowels of
infants, in case of griping and inflammatory excitement of
the intestines:—

Take of compound plaster of laudanum, 1½ oz.
diachylon plaster, 2 drams,
purified opium, 1 do.
oil of peppermint, 1 do.
camphor, 1 do.
Mix for a plaster, and spread on soft leather.

DIARRHŒA.

This may, in general, if the stools are green, be relieved by a brisk
purgative, of from one to two grains of calomel, with four or five of
rhubarb, according to the age of the child.

EXCORIATIONS OF THE SKIN.

Children are apt to be chafed between the thighs, behind the ears,
and in the wrinkles of the neck, for want of proper attention to
cleanliness. In such cases it will be necessary to bathe the parts
twice a day, (or every time that the child’s clothes are changed,)
with a little water gruel, and to apply a puff with a little hair
powder immediately afterwards, so as to keep the parts dry.—When
_discharges_ take place behind the ears, they must not be dried up
too suddenly, as such a circumstance might produce a divertion to the
brain. In this case it will always be best to give frequent doses of
castor oil, or calomel, every night, in the proportion of one grain
to three grains of rhubarb.

CUTANEOUS ERUPTIONS.

No real danger attends these eruptions, which are generally known by
the names of red-gum, nettle-rash, &c. All that is required to be
done, is to keep the bowels open by such means as are prescribed in
the foregoing articles; and to guard against cold, which might drive
the eruption inwardly, and thus produce internal inflammations of a
critical nature. If the milk or food be considered the cause, the
nurse, or diet, ought to be changed: and if sickness and vomiting
should prevail, it will be proper to give the _absorbent mixture_
mentioned under the head GRIPING AND FLATULENCY.

THE THRUSH.

This disease makes its appearance by little ulcerations in the mouth,
tongue, &c. of a white colour, and sometimes of a yellow appearance.
They are generally owing to acidities in the stomach, &c.

In this disorder nothing avails more than an emetic at first, and
then a little magnesia and rhubarb, (if there is diarrhœa,) with
thin chicken-water as drink. Testaceous powders, or the _absorbent
mixture_ (_see_ GRIPING AND FLATULENCY,) will also be proper. If
there is no looseness, it will be proper to give a grain or two of
calomel, with three or four grains of rhubarb. The mouth and throat
should at the same time be cleansed by gargles.

_Syrup of Black Currants._

Take of the juice of black currants, strained, 1 pint, double refined
sugar, 24 oz. Dissolve the sugar, and boil to make a syrup.

A tea-spoonful of this to be given to children in the thrush.

FALLING DOWN OF THE FUNDAMENT.

This happens frequently to children who cry much, or who have had a
diarrhœa, or from straining on going to stool. If it proceed from
costiveness, give lenitive clysters. In case the gut be swelled
or inflamed, foment with warm milk, or decoction of oak bark, or
wash frequently with cold water. The protruded parts are now to be
replaced by the finger, and supported by a truss or bandage. The
internal use of tonics will be proper.

DENTITION.

When children are about cutting their teeth, they slaver much, are
feverish, hot, and uneasy; their gums swell, and are very painful;
they are sometimes loose in the bowels, and at other times costive;
and occasionally convulsions come on.

Leeches are often serviceable when applied behind the ears; as are
also blisters.

_Scarifying the Gums._

Instead of giving narcotics to children cutting their teeth, it
is strenuously recommended to have their tumid gums divided by a
lancet down to the tooth; an operation at once safe and unattended
with pain. If done in time, by removing the cause of the complaint,
all the symptoms will disappear of themselves. Instead of giving
preparations of opium, it will be found, in the majority of cases,
far better to administer calomel, in minute doses, as this medicine
is well known to possess peculiar efficacy in promoting absorption in
these parts. The body, if costive, should be kept regularly open, and
if there should be looseness of the bowels, it should by no means be
discouraged. Instead of coral, or any other hard body, let the child
nibble at a piece of wax candle.

CONVULSIONS.