Chapter VII: Preface (7)

Put 2 drachms each, of tincture of ambergris, and tincture of musk,
in a quart of rectified spirit of wine, and half a pint of water;
filter and put it up in small bottles.

270. OTTAR OF ROSES.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh received from Dr. Monro the following
account of the manner in which this costly perfume is prepared in
the east. Steep a large quantity of the petals of the rose, freed
from every extraneous matter, in pure water, in an earthen or wooden
vessel, which is exposed daily to the sun, and housed at night, till
a scum rises to the surface. This is the _ottar_, which carefully
absorb by a very small piece of cotton tied to the end of a stick.
The oil collected, squeeze out of the cotton into a very diminutive
vial, stop it for use. The collection of it should be continued,
whilst any scum is produced.

271. ENGLISH MILK OF ROSES.

Take 2 lbs. of Jordan almonds,
5 quarts of rose water,
1 do. of rectified spirit of wine,
½ an oz. of oil of lavender,
2 oz. of Spanish oil-soap, and
4 oz. of cream of roses.
Blanch the almonds in boiling water, dry them well in a cloth, then
pound them in a mortar until they become a paste. Pound in the soap
and mix it well with the almond paste. Then add the cream of roses.
When these are mixed, add the rose-water and spirits, which stir
in with a spatula or knife. Strain the whole through a clean white
cloth, then add the oil of lavender to the expressed liquid, drop by
drop, and stir the whole well. When the mixture has stood for a day,
cover it over with a cloth from the dust, then bottle it for use.

272. FRENCH MILK OF ROSES.

Mix together 4 oz. of oil of almonds,
½ an oz. of English oil of lavender,
2 quarts of spirit of wine, and
10 do. of rose-water.
Next, blanch 3 lbs. of Jordan almonds, and pound them in a mortar,
with a quarter of a lb. of Spanish oil-soap, half an oz. of
spermaceti, and half an oz. of white wax. Put these ingredients
into a large jar, with two ounces of pearl-ash, dissolved in an
ounce of warm water. Shake the whole well, and then pour it into
small bottles for sale.

273. CREAM OF ROSES.

Take 1 lb. of oil of sweet almonds,
1 oz. of spermaceti,
1 oz. of white wax,
1 pint of rose-water, and
2 drachms of Malta rose, or nerolet essence.
Put the oil, spermaceti, and wax, into a well-glazed pipkin, over a
clear fire, and, when melted, pour in the rose-water by degrees, and
keep beating, till the compound becomes like pomatum. Now add the
essence, and then put the cream into small pots or jars, which must
be well covered up with pieces of bladder, and soft skin leather.

274. COLD CREAM POMATUM, FOR THE COMPLEXION.

Take an ounce of oil of sweet almonds, and half a drachm each, of
white wax and spermaceti, with a little balm. Melt these ingredients
in a glazed pipkin over hot ashes, and pour the solution into a
marble mortar; stir it with the pestle until it becomes smooth and
cold, then add gradually an ounce of rose or orange-flower water;
stir all the mixture till incorporated to resemble cream. This
pomatum renders the skin at once supple and smooth. To prevent marks
from the small pox, add a little powder of saffron. The gallipot in
which it is kept, should have a piece of bladder tied over it.

275. _Another Method._

Take 4 ounces of clear trotter oil, one ounce of oil of jesamine, 2
ounces of spermaceti, and one ounce of white wax, scraped fine. Melt
them together very gently, then pour it into a pan, which must be
kept by the fire. Now beat it without intermission, till it becomes
one consistent very white body: then put to it 3 ounces of rose or
orange-flower water, with about a drachm of spirit of ambergris, or
other sweet essence.

Beat the mixture well again, until the water and spirit be properly
absorbed. This beating will add greatly to the whiteness as well
as the flavour, of the cream, which will now be as white as snow;
particularly if care is taken that the utensils and ingredients are
quite clean.

In winter, all the utensils, &c. must be kept warm, and the process
performed in a warm room. Even the rose water must be warmed,
previous to mixture, otherwise the cream will congeal into knobs, so
as to cause the whole to be melted again.

In summer every thing must be kept cool after the melting and mixing.
More wax must likewise be used in summer than in winter.

When put into pots, the cold cream is to be kept very cool: each
having honey water poured on the top, in order to improve the flavour.

276. POMADE DIVINE.

Put a pound and a half of clear beef marrow into an earthen pan of
fresh water, and change the same for ten days, then steep it in rose
water for 24 hours, and drain it in a cloth till dry. Take an ounce
of storax, gum benjamin, odoriferous Cypress powder, or of Florence,
half an ounce of cinnamon, two drachms of cloves, and two drachms
of nutmeg, all finely powdered; mix them with the marrow, then put
the ingredients into a three-pint pewter pot, make a paste of the
white of egg and flour, and lay it upon a piece of rag, over that,
put another piece of linen to cover the top close. Put the pot into
a large copper pot with water, and keep it steady that it may not
reach to the covering of the pot that holds the marrow. As the water
shrinks, add more, for it must boil four hours without ceasing;
strain the ointment through a linen cloth into small pots, and when
cold cover them up close with bladder and paper. Don’t touch it with
anything but silver.

277. PEARL WATER, FOR THE FACE.

Put half a pound of best Spanish oil soap, scraped very fine, into a
gallon of boiling water. Stir it well for some time, and let it stand
till cold. Add a quart of rectified spirit of wine, and half an ounce
of oil of rosemary; stir them again.

This compound liquid, when put up in proper phials, in Italy, is
called _tincture of pearls_. It is an excellent cosmetic for removing
freckles from the face, and for improving the complexion.

278. ALMOND BLOOM.

Take of Brazil dust, 1 oz.
water, 3 pints,
isinglass, 6 drachms,
cochineal, 2 do.
alum, 1 oz.
borax, 3 drachms.

279. ALMOND PASTE.

Take of blanched sweet almonds, 1 lb.
———————— bitter do. ½ lb.
sugar, 1 lb.
Beat up with orange flower water.

280. COMMON ALMOND PASTE.

To make this paste, take six pounds of fresh almonds, which blanch
and beat in a stone mortar, with a sufficient quantity of rose-water.
Now add a pound of finely drained honey, and mix the whole well
together. This paste, which is exceedingly good for the hands, is to
be put into small pots for sale.

If this paste gets dry, rub it up on a marble slab, with rose-water.
To prevent this dryness, put about half a tea-spoonful of this water
on the top of each pot, before tying up.

281. ORANGE POMATUM.

Take 5 pounds of hog’s-lard,
1 pound of mutton suet,
3 ounces of Portugal water,
½ an ounce of essence of bergamot,
4 ounces of yellow wax, and
½ a pound of palm oil.
Mix.

282. SOFT POMATUM.

Take 25 pounds of hog’s-lard,
8 pounds of mutton suet,
6 ounces of oil of bergamot,
4 ounces of essence of lemons,
½ an ounce of oil of lavender, and
¼ of an ounce of oil of rosemary.
These ingredients are to be combined in the same manner as those for
the hard pomatum. This pomatum is to be put up in pots, in the usual
way.

283. COMMON POMATUM.

Take 4 pounds of fresh and white mutton suet skinned and shredded
very fine; which melt in about two quarts of spring water; and whilst
hot, put the whole into a well-glazed earthen pan, small at bottom,
and wide at the top. Let it stand until the fat is quite cold, and
all the impurities fall to the bottom, which carefully scrape off.

Now break the fat into small pieces, which put into a pan, with 2
gallons of spring water, for a whole day; stir and wash often. Next
day change the water, and when poured off a second time, at the end
of twenty-four hours, dry the fat by rubbing in a clean linen cloth.

Now put the suet with 1½ pound of fresh hog’s-lard, into a large
pan, and melt the whole over a gentle fire. When properly combined,
put the whole into an earthen pan, and beat it with a wooden spatula,
until cold.

Whilst beating, add 6 drachms of essence of lemon, and 30 drops of
oil of cloves, previously mixed together. Now continue beating, until
the mixture be perfectly white, and afterwards put it up into small
pots.

Leave the pots open until the pomatum is quite cold; when cover them
by pieces of bladder, &c. In summer, use more suet, and mix in a cool
place:—in winter use more hog’s-lard, and make the pomatum in a warm
room.

284. HARD POMATUM.

Take 30 pounds of suet,
1½ pounds of white wax,
6 ounces of essence of bergamot,
4 ounces of lemon,
1 oz. of lavender,
4 drachms of oil of rosemary, and
2 drachms of essence of ambergris.
Shred and pick the suet clean, and melt in an earthen pan or
pipkin. Then stir it well and strain; and when nearly cold,
add the perfumes, stirring well as before; when properly mixed,
pour it into tin moulds.

285. _Another Method._

Take 6 ounces of common pomatum, and add to it 3 ounces of white
virgin wax, scraped fine. Melt them in an earthen pan, immersed in a
larger one, containing boiling water; both being placed over a clear
and steady fire. When properly incorporated, keep stirring, until it
is nearly cold; then put it into small pots, or make it up into small
rolls. Perfume it according to taste.

286. ROSEMARY POMATUM.

Strip a large double handful of rosemary; boil it in a tin or copper
vessel, with half a pound of common soft pomatum, till it comes to
about 3 or 4 ounces; strain it off, and keep it in the usual way.

287. PEARL POWDER, FOR THE FACE.

There are several sorts: the finest is made from _real pearls_,
and is the least hurtful to the skin. It gives the most beautiful
appearance, but is too dear for common use; still the perfumer ought
never to be without it, for the use of the curious and the rich.

288. BISMUTH PEARL POWDER.

The next best pearl powder is made as follows:—

Take 4 ounces of the best magistery of bismuth,
2 ounces of fine starch powder.
Mix them well together, and put them into a subsiding glass, wide
at top and narrow at bottom; pour over them a pint and a half of
proof spirit, and shake them well; let them remain a day or two.
When the powder falls to the bottom, pour off the spirit, leaving
it dry; then place the glass in the sun, to evaporate the moisture.

Next turn out the white mass, the dirty parts of which form the
top, whilst the pure ingredients remain at the bottom. If there
be any dirty particles, scrape them off, and again pulverize the
remaining part of the cake, and pour more proof spirit over it.
Proceed as before; and, if there be any moisture remaining, place
the cone on a large piece of smooth chalk, to absorb its moisture.

Cover the whole with a bell-glass, to preserve it from dust, and
set it in the sun to dry and whiten it. Next grind the mass with a
muller on a marble stone, and keep the powder in a glass bottle,
secured, by a ground stopper, from air.

289. ORANGE FLOWER PASTE, FOR THE HANDS.

Blanch 5 or 6 pounds of bitter almonds, by boiling in water, and
then beat them very fine in a marble mortar, with 2 pounds of orange
flowers. If the paste be too oily, add to it some bean flour, finely
sifted, but let no water enter the composition.

This paste is made abroad, but comes here very damaged, the sea-air
destroying its properties.

290. CORAL TOOTH POWDER.

Take 4 ounces of coral, reduced to an impalpable powder,
8 ounces of very light Armenian bole,
1 ounce of Portugal snuff,
1 ounce of Havannah snuff,
1 ounce of good burnt tobacco ashes, and
1 ounce of gum myrrh, well pulverized.
Mix them together, and sift them twice.

291. A GOOD TOOTH POWDER.

To make a good tooth-powder, leave out the coral, and in its place
put in pieces of brown stone-ware, reduced to a very fine powder.
This is the common way of making it.

292. AN ASTRINGENT FOR THE TEETH.

Take of fresh conserve of roses, 2 ounces, the juice of half a
sour lemon, a little very rough claret, and 6 ounces of coral
tooth-powder. Make them into a paste, which put into small pots; and,
if it dry by standing, moisten with lemon juice and wine, as before.

293. TO CLEAN THE TEETH.

Take of good soft water, 1 quart,
juice of lemon, 2 ounces,
burnt alum, 6 grains,
common salt, 6 grains.
Mix.
Boil them a minute in a cup, then strain and bottle for use: rub
the teeth with a small bit of sponge tied to a stick, once a week.

294. TO MAKE THE TEETH WHITE.

A mixture of honey with the purest charcoal will prove an admirable
cleanser.

295. AN EXCELLENT OPIATE FOR THE TEETH.

Well boil and skim 1 pound of honey; add to it a quarter of a pound
of bole ammoniac, 1 oz. of dragon’s blood, 1 of oil of sweet almonds,
½ an ounce of oil of cloves, 8 drops of essence of bergamot, a gill
of honey water, all mixed well together, and put into pots for use.

296. VEGETABLE TOOTH-BRUSHES.

Take marine marsh-mallow roots, cut them into lengths of 5 or 6
inches, and of the thickness of a middling rattan cane. Dry them in
the shade, but not so as to make them shrivel.

Next finely pulverize two ounces of good dragon’s blood, put it into
a flat-bottomed glazed pan, with four ounces of highly rectified
spirit, and half an ounce of fresh conserve of roses. Set it over
a gentle charcoal fire, and stir it until the dragon’s blood is
dissolved; then put in about thirty of the marsh-mallow sticks; stir
them about, and carefully turn them, that all parts may absorb the
dye alike. Continue this until the bottom of the pan be quite dry,
and shake and stir it over the fire, until the sticks are perfectly
dry and hard.

Both ends of each root or stick should, previous to immersion in the
pan, be bruised gently by a hammer, for half an inch downwards, so as
to open its fibres, and thereby form a brush.

They are generally used by dipping one of the ends in the powder
or opiate, and then, by rubbing them against the teeth, which they
cleanse and whiten admirably.

297. _Other Vegetable Tooth Brushes._

There are several cheap sorts of these tooth-brushes which are made
in the same manner, except that, as a basis, rattan cane, or even
common deal, cut round, is used instead of the marsh-mallow roots.

298. ROSE LIP-SALVE.

Put 8 ounces of the best olive oil into a wide-mouthed bottle, add
two ounces of the small parts of alkanet-root.

Stop up the bottle, and set it in the sun; shake it often, until it
be of a beautiful crimson. Now strain the oil off very clear from
the roots, and add to it, in a glazed pipkin, three ounces of very
fine white wax, and the same quantity of fresh clean mutton suet.
Deer-suet is too brittle, and also apt to turn yellow.

Melt this by a slow fire, and perfume it when taken off, with forty
drops of oil of rhodium, or of lavender. When cold, put it into small
gallipots, or rather whilst in a liquid state.

The common way is to make this salve up into small cakes; in that
form the colour is very apt to be impaired.

This salve never fails to cure chopped or sore lips, if applied
pretty freely at bed-time, in the course of a day or two at farthest.

299. _Another Method._

Beat the alkanet-root in a mortar, until its fibres are properly
bruised; then tie it up in a piece of clean linen rag, and put this
in a clear pipkin with the oil. When the oil has begun to boil, it
will be found of a deep red. The bag is now to be taken out, pressed
and thrown away, and then the other ingredients are to be added as
above.

300. WHITE LIP-SALVE.

This may be made as above, except in the use of alkanet root, which
is to be left out. Though called lip-salve, this composition is
seldom applied to the lips; its principal use consisting in curing
sore nipples, for which it is an excellent remedy.

301. TO SWEETEN THE BREATH.

Take two ounces of Terra Japonica, half an ounce of sugar candy, both
in powder. Grind one drachm of the best ambergris with ten grains of
pure musk; and dissolve a quarter of an ounce of clean gum tragacanth
in two ounces of orange-flower water. Mix all together, so as to form
a paste, which roll into pieces of the thickness of a straw. Cut
these into pieces, and lay them in clean paper. This is an excellent
perfume for those whose breath is disagreeable.

302. TO PERFUME CLOTHES.

Take of oven-dried best cloves, cedar and rhubarb wood, each one
ounce, beat them to a powder, and sprinkle them in a box or chest,
where they will create a most beautiful scent, and preserve the
apparel against moths.

303. PERFUMED BAGS FOR DRAWERS.

Cut, slice, and mix well together, in the state of very gross
powder, the following ingredients:
2 oz. of yellow saunders,
2 oz. of coriander seeds,
2 oz. of orris root,
2 oz. of calamus aromaticus,
2 oz. of cloves,
2 oz. of cinnamon bark,
2 oz. of dried rose leaves,
2 oz. of lavender flowers, and
1 lb. of oak shavings.
When properly mixed, stuff the above into small linen bags, which
place in drawers, wardrobes, &c., which are musty, or liable to
become so.

304. EXCELLENT PERFUME FOR GLOVES.

Take of ambergris one drachm, civet the like quantity; add
flour-butter a quarter of an ounce; and with these well mixed, rub
the gloves over gently with fine cotton wool, and press the perfume
into them.

305. _Another._

Take of damask or rose scent, half an ounce, the spirit of cloves and
mace, each a drachm; frankincense, a quarter of an ounce. Mix them
together, and lay them in papers, and when hard, press the gloves;
they will take the scent in 24 hours, and hardly ever lose it.

306. TINCTURE OF MUSK.

This excellent spirit requires 6 drachms of China musk, 20 grains of
civet, and 2 drachms of red rose buds. Reduce these ingredients to
powder with loaf-sugar, and pour over them three pints of spirit of
wine.

307. A PERFUME TO PREVENT PESTILENTIAL AIRS, &C.

Take of benjamin, storax, and galbanum, each half an ounce, temper
them, being bruised into powder, with the oil of myrrh, and burn them
in a chafing-dish, or else take rosemary, balm, and bay leaves; heat
them in wine and sugar, and let the moisture be consumed; likewise
burn them by the heat of the pan, and they will produce a very fine
scent.

308. PASTILS FOR PERFUMING SICK ROOMS.

Powder separately the following ingredients, and then mix, on
a marble slab,
1 lb. of gum benzoin,
8 oz. of gum storax,
1 lb. of frankincense, and
2 lbs. of fine charcoal.
Add to this composition the following liquids:
6 oz. of tincture of benzoin,
2 oz. of essence of ambergris,
1 oz. of essence of musk,
2 oz. of almond oil, and
4 oz. of clear syrup.
Mix the whole into a stiff paste, and form into pastils, of a
conical shape, which dry in the heat of the sun. If more liquid
should be required for the paste, add warm water.

309. AROMATIC PASTILS.

Beat and sift fine a pound of the four gums left after the making of
honey-water, one pound also of the ingredients left from the spirit
of Benjamin, one pound of the best sealing-wax, and one pound of
genuine gum benzoin.

Dissolve some clear common gum arabic in a quantity of rose-water, of
a pretty thick consistency, and add to it sixty drops of spirit of
musk.

Mix the whole together, so as to make a pretty stiff paste, which
make up into small cones or balls. Dry them thoroughly before they
are put away, otherwise they will become mouldy.

These pastils are particularly useful for burning in rooms, where
the sick or the dead have lain. They are used in very considerable
quantities in the two Houses of Lords and Commons; also in various
halls, assembly-rooms, &c.

310. HAIR POWDER PERFUME.

Take half a pound of pulvil powder, made from apple-tree moss, half
an ounce of grey ambergris, thirty grains of musk, and twenty grains
of civet.

Grind the musk and civet with loaf sugar, to a very fine powder; melt
the ambergris, with 6 drops of the oil of behn nuts, over a gentle
fire, in a clean vessel, not brass or copper; add, as it melts, a few
drops of the juice of green lemon, and about 4 drops each of oil of
rhodium and lavender.

When the ambergris is melted, put the above powder into it, stir and
mix it well. Add, by degrees, the powder of apple-moss; and when the
whole is combined, pulverize and sift it through a very fine hair
sieve; what will not pass through, return into the mortar, again
pound it with loaf-sugar, until the whole is reduced to fine powder.

311. AMBERGRIS PERFUME.

Melt 2 penny-weights of fine ambergris, in a brass mortar, very
gently, stir in quickly, 8 drops of green lemon juice, and the same
of behn-nut oil.

Add, ready powdered with fine loaf-sugar, 12 grains of musk, 12
grains of civet, and 24 grains of residuum from the making of spirit
of ambergris.

Add 1 ounce of spirit of ambergris—mix and incorporate them well, and
add 16 pounds of fine dry hair-powder. Pass the whole, twice, through
a fine hair sieve; then lay it open for three days, in a dry room,
stir it often, that the spirit may entirely evaporate, otherwise it
may turn sour, which, however, will go off by keeping. Bottle and
stop it close.

312. MUSK AND CIVET PERFUMES.

Take 2 penny-weights of pure musk, 12 grains of civet, and 1
penny-weight of the residuum of spirit of ambergris. Make this into a
paste, with 2 ounces of spirit of musk, made by infusion. Powder it
with loaf-sugar and mix in 16 pounds of fine hair powder.

313. ORRIS PERFUME.

Take best dried and scraped orris roots, free from mould. Bruise or
grind them: the latter is best, as, being very tough, they require
great labour to pound. Sift the powder through a fine hair sieve, and
put the remainder in a baker’s oven, to dry the mixture. A violent
heat will turn the roots yellow.

When dry, grind again, and sift; and repeat the same until the whole
has passed through the sieve; mix nothing with it, as it would mould
and spoil it.

314. VIOLET PERFUME.

Drop twelve drops of genuine oil of rhodium on a lump of loaf-sugar;
grind this well in a glass mortar, and mix it thoroughly with three
pounds of orris powder. This will, in its perfume, have a resemblance
to a well-flavoured violet. If you add more rhodium oil, a rose
perfume, instead of a violet one, will be produced; the orris powder
is a most agreeable perfume, and only requiring to be raised by the
addition of the above quantity of the oil.

Keep this perfume in the same manner as the others. What is sold at
the druggist’s shops is generally adulterated.

315. ROSE PERFUME.

Take two pecks of fresh, dry damask rose-leaves; strip them from
their leaves and stalks; have ready 16 pounds of fine hair-powder.
Strew a layer of rose-leaves, on sheets of paper, at the bottom
of a box, cover them over with a layer of hair-powder; then strew
alternately a layer of roses and powder, until the whole of each has
been used.

When they have lain 24 hours, sift the powder out, and expose it to
the air 24 hours more. Stir it often. Add fresh rose-leaves, twice,
as before, and proceed in the same way; after this dry the powder
well by a gentle heat, and pass it through a fine sieve. Lastly,
pour ten drops of oil of rhodium, or three drops of otto of roses,
on loaf-sugar, which triturate in a glass mortar, and stir well into
the powder, which put into a box, or glass, for use. This hair-powder
perfume will be excellent, and will keep well.

316. BERGAMOT PERFUME.

Take sixteen pounds of hair powder, and forty drops of Roman oil of
bergamot, and proceed in all respects as before, but do not leave
the compound exposed to the air; for in this case the bergamot is so
volatile that it will quickly fly off.

317. AMBERGRIS HAIR-POWDER.

Take twelve pounds of fine starch-powder, add three pounds of the
ambergris perfume: mix them well together, and run it twice through a
fine hair sieve. Put it into a well closed box, or glass, for use.

This is the first and best sort of ambergris powder: but for a
second, or inferior sort, put only a pound and a half of the perfume,
to the above quantity of starch-powder.

318. MUSK AND CIVET HAIR-POWDER.

Mix twelve pounds of starch-powder, and three pounds of musk perfume,
as before. A second sort of this hair-powder may be made by using
half the quantity of perfume.

319. VIOLET HAIR-POWDER.

Mix twelve pounds of hair-powder with three pounds of the violet
perfume, and lay it by for use.

320. ROSE HAIR-POWDER.

Mix well twelve pounds of starch powder, with three pounds of the
rose perfume. Sift; put it up in a cedar box, or glass bottle.

321. _Another._

A second sort of this powder may be made by using half the quantity
of the perfume, to twelve pounds of powder, and adding two drops of
otto of roses, previously dropped on sugar, and well triturated in a
glass mortar.

322. TO DESTROY SUPERFLUOUS HAIR.

Take of fresh lime-stone, 1 oz.
pure potass, 1 drachm,
sulphuret of potass, 1 drachm.
Reduce them to a fine powder in a Wedgewood mortar. If the hair be
first washed, or soaked in warm water, (130 Fahr.) for ten minutes,
this article, formed into a thin paste with warm water, and applied
whilst warm, will so effectually destroy the hair in five or six
minutes, that it may be removed by washing the skin with flannel.
It is a powerful caustic, and should therefore be removed as soon
as it begins to inflame the skin, by washing it off with vinegar.
It softens the skin, and greatly improves its appearance.

323. SPANISH LADIES’ ROUGE.

Take good new scarlet wool cuttings, and spirit of wine, or
lemon-juice, boil them in a well-glazed earthen pot, well stopped,
till the liquid has charged itself with all the colour of the
scarlet, strain the dye through a cloth, and all the colour
therefrom; boil it afterwards in a little arabic water, till the
colour becomes very deep. The proportion of materials is, to half a
pound of scarlet cuttings, a quarter of a pint of spirit of wine,
and a sufficient quantity of water to assist the soaking. Then, in
the colour extracted, put a piece of gum arabic, of the size of a
filbert: next steep some cotton in the colour, and wet some sheets of
paper with the dye, which repeat several times, as often as they are
dry, and you will find them sufficiently charged with rouge for use.

324. SPANISH VERMILION FOR THE TOILETTE.

Pour into the alkaline liquor which holds in solution the colouring
part of bastard saffron, such a quantity of lemon juice as may be
necessary to saturate the whole alkaline salts. At the time of the
precipitation, the latter appears under the form of a fecula full of
threads, which soon falls to the bottom of the vessel. Mix this part
with white talc, reduced to fine powder, and moistened with a little
lemon-juice and water. Then form the whole into a paste, and having
put it in small pots, expose it to dry. This colour is reserved
for the use of the toilette; but it has not the durability of that
prepared from cochineal.

325. ECONOMICAL ROUGE.

Fine carmine, properly pulverized and prepared for the purpose, is
the best that can be employed with safety and effect: it gives the
most natural tone to the complexion, and imparts a brilliancy to
the eyes, without detracting from the softness of the skin. To use
it economically, take some of the finest pomatum, without scent, in
which there is a proportion of white wax, about the size of a pea,
just flatten it upon a piece of white paper, then take on a pointed
penknife, carmine equal to a pin’s head, mix it gently with the
pomatum, with your finger, and when you have produced the desired
tint, rub it in a little compressed cotton, pass it over the cheeks
till colour is clearly diffused, void of grease. Ladies will find,
upon trial, that this economical rouge will neither injure the health
nor the skin; and it imitates perfectly the natural colour of the
complexion.

326. _Another._

Take of French chalk, powdered, 4 oz.
oil of almonds, 2 drachms,
carmine, 1 do.

327. TURKISH BLOOM.

Infuse an ounce and a half of gum benzoin, 2 ounces of red saunders,
in powder, and 2 drachms of dragon’s blood, in 12 ounces of
rectified spirit of wine, and 4 ounces of river or rain water. When
the ingredients have been mixed, stop the bottle close, and shake
frequently during seven days; then filter through blotting paper.

328. A WASH FOR SUN-BURNT FACES AND HANDS.

To each pound of ox-gall, add,
roche alum, 1 drachm,
rock salt, ½ oz.
sugar candy, 1 oz.
borax, 2 drachms,
camphor, 1 drachm.
Mix and shake well for 15 minutes, then often, daily, for 15 days,
or till the gall is transparent; filter through cap paper; use when
exposed to the sun;—always washing off before sleep.

329. MACOUBA SNUFF.

The varied flavour of snuffs of different kinds arises less from
the state of the original leaf, than the factitious additions of
manufacturers. The snuff of Martinico, celebrated under the term
“Macouba,” is made from the best leaves, which being moistened with
juice from their excellent sugar-canes, undergoes fermentation, and
having thrown off the offensive _fetor_ in scum and residuum, is
evaporated and ground in the usual manner.

330. CEPHALIC SNUFF.

Its basis is powdered _asarum_, (vulgo Asarabacca), reduced by
admixture with a small portion of powdered _dock-leaf_, or any other
innoxious vegetable. The finely levigated snuff, known as “Scotch,”
may be added agreeable to the taste of the consumer; and finally
a solution of spirit of wine and camphor, in the proportion of one
drachm of the latter, in fifteen of spirit, is to be dropped upon
the camphor, from five to ten drops to an ounce. Bottle your snuff
immediately.

331. _Another._

May be made of a very pleasant flavour, with the powder produced from
sage, rosemary, lilies of the valley, and tops of sweet marjorum—of
each one ounce, with a drachm of Asarabacca root, lavender flowers,
and nutmeg; it should be very fine, and it will relieve the head
vastly.

332. TO IMITATE SPANISH SNUFF.

Take good unsifted Havannah snuff, and grind it down to a fine
powder. If the tobacco be too strong, mix it with the fine powder of
Spanish nut-shells, which is by far the best mixture which can be
used. Over this sprinkle some weak treacle water, and when, after
mixing with the hands, it has lain in a heap for some days, to sweat
and incorporate, pack it up; but take care that it be not too moist.

This snuff, in the course of twelve months, will be of one uniform
and agreeable flavour; and will keep good and mending, for many
years. When old, this sort will hardly be inferior to any of the
plain snuffs made in Spain.

333. LONDON IMITATION OF SPANISH AND OTHER FOREIGN SNUFFS.

The fine powder, which is the best part of the snuff as it comes from
abroad, is sifted from the bale snuff; and the course and stalky part
left, is ground down, previously mixed with strong cheap tobacco
powder, or dust, along with savine, brick-dust, yellow sand, the
sweepings of tobacco, old rotten wood, and with many other filthy
vegetable substances, both dry and green, to pass as the real flavour
of tobacco. All or most of these ingredients being mixed into one
body. This is nothing more than colouring the filthy compound with
red ochre, or umber, or other noxious red or brown colour, mixed with
water and molasses!

The whole, when properly incorporated, is now passed through a hair
sieve, to mix it more intimately; and is then left for some time to
sweat, or become equally moist. This moistness is intended to imitate
the oiliness which is peculiar to the real genuine rancia from
Havannah.

This snuff is packed in barrels, tin canisters, and stone jars, so
that it may come out in lumps, like the Spanish snuffs. This is done
to deceive the purchaser, on whom this bad compound is imposed for
real Spanish snuff. Such is the composition of a very great part of
what is made and sold in this town for common Spanish snuff.

334. TRANSPARENT SOAP.

Suet is the basis of all the soaps of the toilette, known by the
name of Windsor soap, because olive-oil forms a paste too difficult
to melt again, and contains an odour too strong to be mixed with
essences. The suet soap dissolved hot in alcohol retakes its solid
state by cooling. To this fact is due the discovery of transparent
soap, which, if well prepared, has the appearance of candied sugar;
it may also be coloured, and the vegetable hues for this purpose, are
preferable to mineral; any person may make this soap, by putting in a
thin glass phial, the half of a cake of Windsor soap-shavings; fill
it with one half of alcohol, and put it near the fire until the soap
is dissolved; this mixture, placed into a mould to cool, produces the
transparent soap.

335. WINDSOR SOAP.

Melt hard curd soap, and scent it with oil of karni, and essence of
bergamot, bought at the druggists; or the essence of bergamot may be
omitted.

336. ALMOND SOAP.

Upon 1 lb. of quick-lime, pour 3 quarts of boiling distilled water;
add 1 lb. of salt of tartar, dissolved in 1 quart of water; cover
the vessel, and when cold, filter through a cotton cloth: a pint
should weigh exactly 16 ounces troy; if more, add distilled water,
and if less evaporate. Then add one third of oil of almonds, simmer
them together for some hours, or until the oil forms a jelly; when
cool, which may be tried on a small quantity, add common salt, and
then continue boiling till the soap is solid; when cold, skim off the
water, and then pour into moulds.

337. _Another Method._

Take 2 lbs. of soap ley, made of barilla or kelp, so strong that a
bottle, holding half a pint of water, will hold 11 ounces of the ley,
and 4 lbs of oil of almonds; rub them together in a mortar, and put
the mixture into tin moulds, where let it be for some weeks, till the
combination is perfect.

338. MARBLED SOAP BALLS.

Take ten pounds of white oil soap, and ten pounds of Joppa soap. Cut
them into small square pieces, which set to dry for three days: the
oil-soap, particularly, must be thus dried.

Scrape, very finely, five pounds of oil-soap, which dry for one day,
in the open air, mix it well in the shaving-box with five pounds of
powder, add an ounce and a half of the best vermilion.

In mixing, place pieces of soap, and coloured powder, in layers in
the box, making, in all, four alternate layers of each. When a layer
of each has been placed in the box, sprinkle a pint of rose-water
over the _cut soap_; for if it be much combined with the powder, it
will become lumpy and hard, and consequently spoil the wash-balls.
The same quantity of rose-water is to be used for moistening each
of the other soap layers. Next mix a pint of thin starch, which has
been well boiled in half a pint of rain water, with half a pint of
rose-water, and distribute it equally well mixed among the mass, by
turning it over repeatedly, and then press it down close with the
hands. If a piece be now cut out from the mass, the operator will
perceive whether the marbling is sufficiently good; and if so, he may
proceed immediately to form his wash-balls.

339. TO IMITATE NAPLES SOAP.

Take of fresh ley, strong enough to bear an egg, eight pounds, and
put to it of deer’s, goat’s, or lamb’s suet, (which has previously
been well cleansed from all skins, &c. by rose-water,) two pounds,
and one pound of olive-oil, or rather behn-nut oil. Let all these
simmer over the fire in a well-glazed pot, until it be pretty nearly
of the consistence of crown or Naples soap; then turn it out into a
large flat pan, which set on the leads or roof of the house, exposed
to the heat of the sun for fifty days. The pan must be covered over
with a bell glass, such as the gardeners use, and the mixture must be
stirred once a day, during the whole of this time.

In about six weeks or two months, the operator will have a most
excellent ground-work for Naples soap, which only requires perfuming
in the following manner, to render it even preferable to the foreign
sorts.

Take of oil of rhodium, one ounce, of spirit of ambergris, two ounces
and a half, spirit of musk, half an ounce; mix these well together,
and then put the compound into the pan of soap. Stir the whole well,
and incorporate the perfumes with the soap, on a marble stone by
means of a muller. Put up into small jars, or preserve in a mass in
a large jar, according to sale or convenience. If kept for twelve
months, this soap will be found, by comparison, to be far preferable
to the best soap that ever came from Naples.

SIMPLE DISTILLED WATERS.

————

340. PRESERVATION OF FLOWERS FOR DISTILLATION.

Rub three pounds of rose-leaves for three minutes with a pound of
common salt. The flowers being bruised by the friction of the grains
of salt, form a paste, which is to be put into an earthen jar, or
into a water-tight barrel. The same process is to be repeated until
the vessel is filled, so that all the roses may be equally salted.
The vessel is then to be shut up and kept in a cool place until
wanted.

For distillation, this aromatic paste is, at any season, to be put
into the body of the still with twice its weight of water; and when
heat is applied, the oil, or essential water, is to be obtained in
the common way. Both the oil and water are in this way produced in
greater quantity than by using the leaves without the salt: besides,
the preserved paste will keep its flavour and strength unimpaired for
several years.

Other flowers, capable of affording essential oils may also be
treated in the above-mentioned way, with economy and advantage; as
there is thereby no occasion to carry on a hurried process in the
heat of summer, when these are in perfection.

341. GENERAL RULES FOR THE DISTILLATION OF SIMPLE WATERS.

1. Plants and their parts ought to be fresh gathered. When they are
directed fresh, such only must be employed; but some are allowed to
be used dry, as being easily procurable in this state at all times of
the year, though rather more elegant waters might be obtained from
them whilst green.

2. Having bruised the subjects a little, pour thereon thrice their
quantity of spring water.

This quantity is to be diminished or increased, according as the
plants are more or less juicy than ordinary.

When fresh and juicy herbs are to be distilled, thrice their weight
of water will be fully sufficient, but dry ones require a much larger
quantity.

In general, there should be so much water, that after all intended to
be distilled has come over, there may be liquor enough to prevent the
matter from burning to the still.

3. Formerly, some vegetables were slightly fermented with the
addition of yeast, previous to their distillation.

4. If any drops of oil swim on the surface of the water, they are to
be carefully taken off.

5. That the waters may be kept the better, about one-twentieth part
of their weight of proof spirit may be added to each after they are
distilled.

342. STILLS FOR SIMPLE WATERS.

The instruments chiefly used in the distillation of simple waters are
of two kinds, commonly called the hot still, or alembic, and the
cold still. The waters drawn by the cold still from plants are much
more fragrant, and more fully impregnated with their virtues, than
those drawn by the hot still or alembic.

The method is this:—A pewter body is suspended in the body of the
alembic, and the head of the still fitted to the pewter body; into
this body the ingredients to be distilled are put, the alembic filled
with water, the still-head luted to the pewter body, and the nose
luted to the worm of the refrigeratory or worm. The same intention
will be answered by putting the ingredients into a glass alembic, and
placing it in a bath-heat, or balneum mariæ.

The cold still is much the best adapted to draw off the virtues of
simples, which are valued for their fine flavour when green, which is
subject to be lost in drying; for when we want to extract a spirit
from plants so light and volatile, as not to subsist in open air any
longer than while the plant continues in its growth, it is certainly
the best method to remove the plant from its native soil, into
some proper instrument, where, as it dies, these votile parts may
be collected and preserved. And such an instrument is what we call
the cold still, where the drying of the plant, or flower, is only
forwarded by a moderate warmth, and all that rises is collected and
preserved.

343. EXPEDITIOUS MODE OF DISTILLING SIMPLE WATERS.

Tie a piece of muslin or gauze over a glazed earthern pot, whose
mouth is just large enough to receive the bottom of a warming-pan;
on this cloth lay the herb, clipped; then place upon them the
warming-pan, with live coals in it, to cause heat just enough to
prevent burning, by which means as the steam issuing out of the herb
cannot mount upwards, by reason of the bottom of the pan just fitting
the brim of the vessel below it, it must necessarily descend, and
collect into water at the bottom of the receiver, and that strongly
impregnated with the essential oil, and the salt of the vegetable
thus distilled; which, if wanted to make spirituous or compound
water, is easily done, by simply adding some good spirits, or French
brandy to it, which will keep good for a long time, and be much
better than if the spirits had passed through a still, which must,
of necessity, waste some of their strength. Care should be taken not
to let the fire be too strong, lest it scorch the plants; and to
be made of charcoal, for continuance and better regulation, which
must be managed by lifting up and laying down the lid, as wanted to
increase or decrease the degrees of heat. The deeper the earthen pan,
the cooler the season, and the less fire at first (afterwards to be
gradually raised), in the greater perfection will the distilled water
be obtained.

As the more moveable, or volatile parts of vegetables, are the
aqueous, the oily, the gummy, the resinous, and the saline, these are
to be expected in the waters of this process; the heat here employed
being so great as to burst the vessels of the plants, some of which
contain so large a quantity of oil, that it may be seen swimming on
the surface of the water.

Although a small quantity only of distilled waters can be obtained
at a time by this confined operation, yet it compensates in strength
what is deficient in quantity. Such liquors, if well corked up from
the air, will keep good a long time, especially if about a twentieth
part of any spirits be added, in order to preserve the same more
effectually.

344. ROSEMARY WATER.

As the method of performing the operation by the cold still is the
very same, whatever plant or flower is used, the following instance
of procuring a water from rosemary, will be abundantly sufficient
to instruct the young practitioner in the manner of conducting the
process in all cases whatever.

Take rosemary, fresh gathered in its perfection, with the morning dew
upon it, and lay it lightly and unbruised upon the plate or bottom
of the still; cover the plate with its conical head, and apply a
glass receiver to the nose of it. Make a small fire of charcoal under
the plate, continuing it as long as any liquor comes over into the
receiver.

When nothing more comes over, take off the still head, and remove the
plant, putting fresh in its stead, and proceed as before; continue
to repeat the operation successively, till a sufficient quantity of
water is procured. Let this distilled water be kept at rest in clean
bottles, close stopped, for some days in a cool place; by this means
it will become limpid, and powerfully impregnated with the taste and
smell of the plant.

345. SIMPLE ALEXETERIAL WATERS.

Take of spearmint leaves, fresh, 1½ lbs. sea wormwood tops, fresh,
angelica leaves, fresh, each 1 pound; water, as much as is sufficient
to prevent burning. Draw off by distillation 3 gallons.

Or, take of elder flowers, moderately dried, 2 pounds; angelica
leaves, fresh gathered, 1 pound; water, a sufficient quantity. Distil
off three gallons.

346. SIMPLE PENNYROYAL WATER.

Take of pennyroyal leaves, dry, a pound and a half; water, as much as
will prevent burning. Draw off by distillation 1 gallon.

347. SIMPLE SPEARMINT WATER.

Take of spearmint leaves, fresh, any quantity; water, three times
as much. Distil as long as the liquor which comes over has a
considerable taste or smell of the mint.

Or, take spearmint leaves, dried, 1½ lbs., water as much as is
sufficient to prevent burning. Draw off by distillation 1 gallon.

348. CINNAMON WATER.

Take of bruised cinnamon, 1 lb.
water, 2 gallons.
Simmer in a still for half an hour, put what comes over into the
still again; when cold, strain through flannel.

349. EAU SANS-PAREIL.

Take two gallons of fine old honey-water, put it into a still capable
of holding four gallons, and add the thinly pared rinds of six or
eight fresh citrons, neither _green_ nor _mellow_ ripe. Then add
sixty or seventy drops of fine Roman bergamot; and, having luted
the apparatus well, let the whole digest in a moderate heat for
twenty-four hours. Draw off, by a water-bath heat, about one gallon.

350. JESSAMINE WATER.

Take six pounds of the white sweet almond cakes, from which jessamine
oil has been made abroad; beat and sift them to a fine powder, and
put to it as much fresh oil of jessamine as will be required to make
it into a stiff paste. Let this paste be dissolved in about six
quarts of spring water, which has been previously well boiled, and
left until it has become about half cold. Stir and mix the whole well
together; and when the oil and water has been well combined, let the
whole stand until the powder has fallen to the bottom of the vessel.
Now pour the liquid off gently, and filter it through cotton, in a
large tin funnel, into the glass bottle in which it is to be kept for
use.

The powder or sediment which has been left at the bottom of the
vessel, when dried by the heat of the sun, answers very well for
making almond paste for the hands.

351. JAMAICA PEPPER WATER.

Jamaica pepper is the fruit of a tall tree growing in the mountainous
parts of Jamaica, where it is much cultivated, because of the great
profit arising from the cured fruit, sent in large quantities
annually into Europe.

Take of Jamaica pepper, half a pound; water, two gallons and a half;
draw off 1 gallon with a pretty brisk fire. The oil of this fruit is
very ponderous, and therefore, this water is made in an alembic.

352. MYRTLE WATER.

Infuse eight or ten pounds of the cuttings of green myrtle, in nearly
twenty gallons of rain or river water, and add thereto a pint of
fresh yeast, after it has stood for twenty-four hours. At the end of
another day and night, put the whole into a still, with a pound of
bay salt. Draw off the whole of the water; and, next day, infuse more
myrtle leaves, as before, and distil again. Repeat the same a third
time.

353. ORANGE FLOWER WATER.

Take two pounds of orange flowers, and twenty-four quarts of water,
and draw over three pints.

Or, take twelve pounds of orange flowers, and sixteen quarts of
water, and draw over fifteen quarts.

354. ORANGE PEEL WATER.

Take of the outward yellow rind of Seville oranges, four ounces;
water, three gallons and a half; draw off one gallon by the alembic,
with a brisk fire.

355. PEPPERMINT WATER.

Take of the herb of peppermint, dried, 1½ lbs.
water, as much as is sufficient to prevent burning.
Distil off a gallon. This has been known to allay sickness when
nothing else would succeed, and is used in flatulent colics. A
wine-glassful may be taken, and often repeated.

356. _Another._

Take of oil of peppermint, 1 pound,
water, a sufficient quantity.
Draw off 30 gallons. This is stimulant and carminative; and
covers disagreeable flavours.

357. PORTUGAL AND ANGEL WATERS.

Take a pint of orange-flower water, a pint of rose-water, and half a
pint of myrtle-water; to these put a quarter of an ounce of distilled
spirit of musk, and an ounce of spirit of ambergris. Shake the whole
well together, and the process will be finished.

358. ROSE WATER.

Take of the leaves of fresh damask roses, with
the heels cut off, 6 lbs.
water, as much as to prevent burning.
Distil off a gallon.

The distilled waters should be drawn from dried herbs, because the
fresh cannot be got at all times in the year. Whenever the fresh
are used the weights must be increased; but whether the fresh or
dry are made use of, it is left to the judgment of the operator
to vary the weight, according as the plants are in greater or
less perfection, owing to the season in which they grew or were
collected.

359. STRAWBERRY WATER.

Take of the bruised fruit, 20 lbs.
water a sufficient quantity.
Draw off two gallons and a half: this water is very fragrant.

360. COMMON DISTILLED WATER.

Take of water, 10 gallons.
Distil. Throw away the first ⅓ gallon, and draw off four gallons,
which keep in glass or stone ware.

Distilled water is used as a diet drink in cancerous diseases, and
should be used in making medicines when the salts contained in
common water would decompose them.

COMPOUND DISTILLED WATERS.

————

361. GENERAL RULES FOR THE DISTILLATION OF SPIRITUOUS WATERS.

1. The plants and their parts ought to be moderately and newly dried,
except such as are ordered to be fresh gathered.

2. After the ingredients have been steeped in the spirit for the time
prescribed, add as much water as is sufficient to prevent a burnt
flavour, or rather more.