The Ugly-Girl Papers

CHAPTER VII.. Shining Pallor.--Lustrous Faces.--Golden Freckles.--Tiger-Lily

Shining Pallor.--Lustrous Faces.--Golden Freckles.--Tiger-Lily Spots.--Sun Photographs.--Nitre Removes Freckles.--Old English Prescription.--For Yachting.--Almond-Oil.--Buttermilk as a Cosmetic.--Rosemary and Glycerine.--Lotion for Prickly Heat.--For Musquitoes.--Protecting Hair from Sea Air.--Fashionable Gray Hair.--Dark Eyes and Silver Hair.--To Restore Dark Hair.--Bandoline.--Cold Cream.--Almond Pomade.--For Skin Diseases.--Sulphurous Acid 77

CHAPTER VIII.. Service of Beauty.--Not for Vanity, but Perfection.--Eyebrows

Service of Beauty.--Not for Vanity, but Perfection.--Eyebrows of Petrarch’s Laura.--Fashionable Baths.--Trimming the Eyelashes.--Luxury of the Toilet.--Its Magnetic Influence.--A Safe Stimulant.--Amateurs of the Toilet.--Cosmetic Gloves.--To Refine the Skin of the Shoulders and Arms.--Sulphate of Quinine for the Hair.--For the Eyebrows and Eyelashes.--A Harmless Dye.--To Remove Sallowness.--A Hint for Stout People.--Perfumed Bathing-powder 86

CHAPTER IX.. Hope for Homely People.--Two Vital Charms.--the Way to

Hope for Homely People.--Two Vital Charms.--The Way to Live.--Sunrise and Open Air.--Bleached by the Dawn.--Live at Sunny Windows.--In Balconies and Parks.--Christiana’s Breakfast.--Brown Steak and Good-humor.--True Bread.--Device for Stiff Shoulders.--Corsets and Girdles.--The Latter more Needed.--How to be Pleased with One’s Self 95

CHAPTER X.. The Bonniest Kate in Christendom.--a Word to Mothers and

The Bonniest Kate in Christendom.--A Word to Mothers and Aunts.--Different Vanities.--The Sorrows of Ugly Women.--Recipes of an Ancient Beauty.--Sand Wash.--Color for the Nails.--Embrocation for the Hands.--Soap to Bleach the Arms.--Freckle Lotions.--Artistic Enthusiasm at the Toilet 108

CHAPTER XI.. A Dark Potion.--Olive-Oil and Tar for the Face.--Olive-Tar for

A Dark Potion.--Olive-oil and Tar for the Face.--Olive-tar for Inhalation.--Carbolic Lotion for Pimples.--Cure for Musquito Bites.--Pale Blondes.--A French Marquise.--Deepening Colors by Sunlight.--Seductive Cosmetics.--Nose-machine.--Finger Thimbles 117

CHAPTER XII.. Removal of Superfluous Hair.--Effects of High Living.--Work of

Removal of Superfluous Hair.--Effects of High Living.--Work of Typhoid Fever.--Roman Tweezers.--Lola Montez’s Recipes.--Paste of Wood-ashes.--Bleaching Arms with Chloride.--Cautions about Depilatories.--Public Baths.--Improving Complexions by the Sulphur Vapor-bath.--How Arabian Women Perfume Themselves.--Profuse Hair, Sign of Nature’s Bounty 125

CHAPTER XIII.. Madame Celnart’s Works of the Toilet.--Literature of

Madame Celnart’s Works of the Toilet.--Literature of Beauty.--Cares of the Toilet.--Arts of Coiffure and Lacing.--How to Hold a Needle Gracefully.--Iris Powder for Tresses.--Arts of Italian Women.--Depilatory used in Harems.--Spirit of Pyrêtre.--Herbs used by Greek Women.--Mexican Pomade.--Dusky Perfumed Marbles.--Lost Perfumes.--Sultanas’ Lotion.--Brilliant Paste for Neck and Arms.--Baking Enamel 134

CHAPTER XIV.. The Last of the Rose.--Weighing in the Balances.--to Love and to

The Last of the Rose.--Weighing in the Balances.--To Love and to be Loved.--The Enigma of Love.--Its Power over the Lot of Men.--Inspiration in the Looks.--The Land of Spring.--The Duchess of Devonshire.--Women at and after Thirty.--Training of Emotion.--Warming the Voice.--Crow’s-feet at the Opera.--Bohemian Arsenic Waters.--Recipe from Madame Vestris.--Milk of Roses.--Sweet-oils.--Opera-dancers’ Prescription for Restoring Suppleness 146

CHAPTER XV.. The Fearful Malady of Which No One Dies.--_esprit

The Fearful Malady of which no one Dies.--Esprit Odontalgique.--Gray Pastilles.--Important to Smokers.--Mouth Perfumes.--Care of the Breath.--Directions for Bathing.--Perfumes for the Bath.--Bazin’s Pâte.--Quality of Soaps.--Bathing and Anointing the Feet.--Nicety of Stockings.--Delicate Shoe Linings.--Feet of Pauline Bonaparte 155

CHAPTER XVI.. “the Leaves Are Full of Joy.”--Nobility of the Body.--Its

“The Leaves are Full of Joy.”--Nobility of the Body.--Its Possibilities.--Brain and Heart Dependent on it.--Physical Culture Imperative in America.--Our Contempt of Health.--Easier to be Magnificent than Clean.--Distilled Water for Every Use.--Substitute for Stills.--Vapor and Sulphur Baths.--Bran Baths.--Oatmeal for the Hands.--Frequency of Baths.--Remedies for Hepatic Spots 165

CHAPTER XVII.. The Banting System.--a Quaint Author.--Trials of

The Banting System.--A Quaint Author.--Trials of Corpulency.--Result of Living on Sixpence a Day.--Indifference of Doctors.--A Wise Surgeon.--Relation of Glucose to Obesity.--Diet for Stout People.--No Starch, no Sugar.--Losing Flesh at the Rate of a Pound a Week.--“Human Beans.”--Humors of Banting’s Tract.--His Gratitude.--Honors to Dr. Harvey.--One Day with Dives, the Next with Lazarus.--Bromide of Ammonia 175

CHAPTER XVIII.. A Letter.--Trials of a Plain Woman.--the Best Husband in the

A Letter.--Trials of a Plain Woman.--The Best Husband in the World.--Burdock Wash for the Hair.--For Children’s Hair.--Oil of Mace as a Stimulant.--To Restore Color to the Hair.--Sperm-oil a Powerful Hair Restorer.--The Cheapest Hair-Dye.--Cure for Chilblains.--Loose Shoes the Cause of Corns.--Pyroligneous Acid for Corns.--Turpentine and Carbolic Acid for Soft Corns 185

CHAPTER XIX.. A Talk About Complexions.--Delicate Lotion.--Cause of Rough

A Talk about Complexions.--Delicate Lotion.--Cause of Rough Faces.--Sun Painting and Bleaching.--Court Ladies Refusing to Wash their Faces.--Experiments with Olive-tar.--Consumption and Clear Faces.--Rev. W. H. H. Murray on Olive-tar.--Porcelain Women.--Drawing Humors to the Surface.--What is to be Done for the Weak Women? 192

CHAPTER XX.. Sulphur Baths.--Bleaching Old Faces.--Experiments in

Sulphur Baths.--Bleaching Old Faces.--Experiments in Bathing.--Cautions.--Need of Public Baths.--Their Proper Prices.--Method of Giving Sulphur Vapor-baths.--Hot Baths for Hot Weather.--Russian Baths at Home.--Improvements Needed in Public Baths.--What they Should be.--What they Are.--The Russian Vapor-bath.--After-Sensations.--Brightness and Lightness of Health.--Reverence for the Physical.--Influence of Bathing on the Nerves and Passions.--Necessity of Public Baths 198

CHAPTER XXI.. Devices of Uneasy Age.--Bread Paste and Court-Plaster to Conceal

Devices of Uneasy Age.--Bread Paste and Court-plaster to Conceal Wrinkles.--Accepting the Situation.--Plain Women and Agreeable Toilets.--Examples.--The Rector’s Daughter.--Dressing on Two Hundred a Year.--Écru Linen and White Nansook.--A Senator’s Wife.--A Washington Success.--Dull, Thin Faces.--Hay-colored Hair.--Advantages of Lining Rooms with Mirrors 212

CHAPTER XXII.. Physical Education of Girls.--a Woman’s Value in the

Physical Education of Girls.--A Woman’s Value in the World.--High-bred Figures.--Antique Races.--Inspiration of Art not Vanity.--The Trying Age.--Dress, Food, and Bathing for Young Girls.--A Veto on Close Study.--Braces and Backboards.--Never Talk of Girls’ Feelings.--Exercise for the Arms.--Singing Scales with Corsets off.--Development of the Bust.--Open-work Corsets the Best.--The Bayaderes of India and their Forms.--The Delicacy due Young Girls.--A Frank but Needed Caution.--Care of the Figure after Nursing 224

CHAPTER XXIII.. Hands and Complexions.--Preparing for Parties.--Refining

Hands and Complexions.--Preparing for Parties.--Refining Rough Faces.--Carbolic Baths.--Chalk and Cascarilla.--Glycerine Wash.--School-girls’ Flushed Hands and Faces.--To Soften the Hands.--Red Noses.--Secrets of Making-up.--Cologne for the Eyes.--Cosmetic Gloves.--To Impart a Brilliant Complexion 238

CHAPTER XXIV.. Women’s Looks and Nerves.--a Low-Toned Generation.--Children

Women’s Looks and Nerves.--A Low-toned Generation.--Children and their Ways.--Brief Madness.--Women in the Woods.--Singing.--Work well done the Easiest.--Sleep the Remedy for Temper.--Hours for Sleep.--The Great Medicines--Sunshine, Music, Work, and Sleep 247

CHAPTER XXV.. Changing Wigs and Chignons.--Matching Braids.--Frizzing the

Changing Wigs and Chignons.--Matching Braids.--Frizzing the Hair.--Crimping-pins.--Blonde Hair-pins.--What Colors Hair.--Bleaching Tresses.--Sulphur Paste.--Foxy Locks.--Freshening Switches 257

CHAPTER XXVI.. Hair and Complexion.--Black Dyes.--Persian Blue-Black.--Peroxide

Hair and Complexion.--Black Dyes.--Persian Blue-Black.--Peroxide of Hydrogen.--Chloride of Gold.--Transient Dyes 267

THE UGLY-GIRL PAPERS.

CHAPTER I.. Woman’s Business to Be Beautiful.--How to Acquire a Clear

Woman’s Business to be Beautiful.--How to Acquire a Clear Complexion.--Regimen for Purity of the Blood.--Carbonate of Ammonia and Powdered Charcoal.--Stippled Skins.--Face Masks.--Oily Complexions.--Irritations of the Skin.--Lettuce as a Cosmetic.--Cooling Drinks.--Sun-Baths.--Bread and Molasses.

The first requisite in a woman toward pleasing others is that she should be pleased with herself. In no other way can she attain that self-poise, that satisfaction, which leaves her at liberty to devote herself successfully to others.

I appeal to the ugly sisterhood to know if this is not so. Could a woman be made to believe herself beautiful, it would go far toward making her so. Those hopeless, shrinking souls, alive with devotion and imagination, with hearts as fit to make passionate and worshiped lovers, or steadfast and inspiring heroines, as the fairest Venus of the sex, need not for an instant believe there is no alleviation for their case, no chance of making face and figure more attractive and truer exponents of the spirit within.

There is scarcely any thing in the history of women more touching than the homage paid to beauty by those who have it not. No slave among her throng of adorers appreciated more keenly the beauty of Récamier than the skeleton-like, irritable Madame De Chateaubriand. The loveliness of a rival eats into a girl’s heart like corrosion; every fair curling hair, every grace of outline, is traced in lines of fire on the mind of the plainer one, and reproduced with microscopic fidelity. It is a woman’s business to be beautiful. She recommends every virtue and heroism by the grace which sets them forth. Women of genius are the first to lay the crown of womanhood on the head of the most beautiful. Mere fashion of face and form are not meant by beauty, but that symmetry and brightness which come of physical and spiritual refinement. Such are the heroines of Scott, Disraeli, and Bulwer, as inspiring as they are rare. Toward such ideals all women yearn.

Who will say that this most natural feeling of the feminine heart may not have some fulfillment in the first thirty years of life? This limit is given because the latest authorities in social science assert that woman’s prime of youth is twenty-six, moving the barriers a good ten years ahead from the old standard of the novelist, whose heroines are always in the dew of sixteen. In the very first place, one may boldly say that beauty, or rather fascination, is not a matter of youth, and no woman ought to sigh over her years till she feels the frost creeping into her heart. Men of the world understand well that a woman’s wit is finest, and her heart yields the richest wealth, when experience has formed the fair and colorless material of youth. A sweet girl of seventeen and a high-bred beauty of thirty, if well preserved, may dispute the palm. I do not mean to decry rose-buds and dew. One hardly knows which to love them for most--their loveliness or their briefness. But women who look their thirties in the face should not lay down the sceptre of life, or fancy that its delights for them are over. They are young while they seem young.

Then we may boldly set about renovating the outward form, sure that Nature will respond to our efforts. The essence of beauty is health; but all apparently healthy people are not fair. The type of the system must be considered in treatment. The brunette is usually built up of much iron, and the bilious secretion is sluggish. The blonde is apt to be dyspeptic, and subject to disturbances of the blood. From these causes result freckles, pimples, and that coarse, indented skin stippled with punctures, like the tissue of pig-skin--a fault of many otherwise clear complexions.

The fairest skins belong to people in the earliest stage of consumption, or those of a scrofulous nature. This miraculous clearness and brilliance is due to the constant purgation which wastes the consumptive, or to the issue which relieves the system of impurities by one outlet. We must secure purity of the blood by less exhaustive methods. The diet should be regulated according to the habit of the person. If stout, she should eat as little as will satisfy her appetite; never allowing herself, however, to rise from the table hungry. A few days’ resolute denial will show how much really is needed to keep up the strength. When recovering from severe nervous prostration, years ago, the writer found her appetite gone. The least morsel satisfied hunger, and more produced a repugnance she never tried to overcome. She resumed study six hours a day and walked two miles every day from the suburbs to the centre of the city, and back again. Breakfast usually was a small saucer of strawberries and one Graham cracker, and was not infrequently dispensed with altogether. Lunch was half an orange--for the burden of eating the other half was not to be thought of; and at six o’clock a handful of cherries formed a plentiful dinner. Once a week she did crave something like beef-steak or soup, and took it. But, guiding herself wholly by appetite, she found with surprise that her strength remained steady, her nerves grew calm, and her ability to study was never better. This is no rule for any one, farther than to say persons of well-developed physique need not fear any limitation of diet for a time which does not tell on the strength and is approved by appetite. Never eat too much; never go hungry.

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