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Classic
Cook Books
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page 420
little or no butter, fat meat, gravies, sugar, vegetables, or other articles
containing large amounts of starch or sugar.
LEANNESS--Is caused generally by lack of power in the digestive organs to digest
and assimilate the fat-producing elements of food. First restore digestion, take
plenty of sleep, drink all the water the stomach will bear in the morning on
rising, take moderate exercise in the open air, eat oat-meal, cracked wheat,
Graham mush, baked sweet apples, roasted and broiled beef, cultivate jolly
people, and bathe daily.
DRESS.--The first object of dress is protection of the body, second to enhance
and bring out its beauty. Dress which does not enhance the beauty of the wearer,
or which attracts attention from the wearer to itself, is out of taste. To be in
correct taste it must be "becoming," and in this sense dressing is an art worthy
of the attention and study of the most intellectual and accomplished woman. The
beauty of dress, to a cultivated eye, does not lie in its money-value, but in
its perfection in detail and perfect adaptation to the wearer and the occasion
for which it is intended. Any simpleton in petticoats, who has plenty of money,
can order her clothes from Worth, in the latest Paris styles, but some quiet
woman, with brains and taste, in simpler costume, will be sure to outshine her
in "society." Low-necked dresses, dragging skirts, corsets and stays, paddings,
heavy skirts which rest on the hips, heavy veils, high-heeled boots, and every
other unphysiological abomination in dress, mars beauty and destroys health.
THE HAIR.--combs of tortoise-shell, bone, or rubber, with not very sharp teeth,
should be used. Sharp teeth injure the scalp and produce dandruff. Two brushes,
one hard, to clean the hair and scalp, and the other soft, to smooth and polish,
are best.
Clean brushes by rubbing them with bran, or wash with one part ammonia and two
of water. Combing or brushing should be done in the natural direction of the
hair, and never against it. In the proper way it can not be brushed too much.
To keep the scalp clean wash in tepid soft water with a little pure soap in it,
rinse in pure water, dry with towels and then in the sun or by the fire. Oily
hair may be washed once a week, light hair less often. Some occupations require
that it should be washed much oftener. All preparations for the hair are more or
less injurious. Healthy hair has enough oil of its own, and the application of
foreign oil destroys its vitality. Preparations containing alcohol fade hair and
make it brittle.
The only time when oil is admissable is after washing. The best preparation is
one part of glycerine to three of rose-water. Powders made of starch, when used,
must be washed out of the hair to prevent injury. Those made of colored glass
are very injurious, cutting and otherwise damaging the hair. At night, the hair
should be loosened and left free. Night-caps are a relic of barbarism, Hair-dyes
are very injurious, as they all contain more or less sugar of lead, nitrate of
silver, and other ingredients, which affect the brain, produce paralysis,
inflammation of the eyes, and impairment of sight. Gray hairs are an indication
that the hair-producing organs are weakening. When found they should be cut down
to the healthy part, and the head should be exposed as much as possible, except
in the middle of the day, to the sun and air.
When hair falls out, it indicates a disease of the scalp. To cure, dip the head
twice a day in cold water and rub with a brush until a glow is produced. In case
the hair is too long to wet, brush until a glow is produced, and then rub into
the roots a wash made of three drachms of pure glycerine and four ounces of
lime-water. After the use of this for two or three weeks, add half an ounce of
the tincture of cantharides to the above mixture. Use this treatment once or
twice a day; if tender, diminishing the application, if insensible, increasing
it. If baldness
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