Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889. Barkham Burroughs

their kohol of the smoke produced by burning almonds. A small bag holding the bottle of kuhol, and a pin, with a rounded point with which to apply it, form part of the toilet paraphernalia of all the beauties of Cairo, who make the immense mistake of getting up their eyes in an exactly similar manner, thus trying to reduce the endless variety of nature to one common pattern, a mistake that may be accounted for by the fact that the Arabs believe kohol to be a sovereign specific against ophthalmia. Their English sisters often make the same mistake without the same excuse. A hairpin steeped in lampblack is the usual method of darkening the eyes in England, retribution following sooner or later in the shape of a total loss of the eyelashes. Eau de Cologne is occasionally dropped into the eyes, with the effect of making them brighter. The operation is painful, and it is said that half a dozen drops of whisky and the same quantity of Eau de Cologne, eaten on a lump of sugar, is quite as effective.

HIGH-HEELED BOOTS.

       Table of Contents

      A lady looks infinitely taller and slimmer in a long dress than she does in a short costume, and there is always a way of showing the feet, if desired, by making the front quite short, which gives, indeed, a more youthful appearance to a train dress. The greatest attention must, of course, be paid to the feet with these short dresses, and I may here at once state that high heels are absolutely forbidden by fashion. Doctors, are you content? Only on cheap shoes and boots are they now made, and are only worn by common people. A good bootmaker will not make high heels now, even if paid double price to do so. Ladies—that is, real ladies—now wear flat-soled shoes and boots, a la Cinderella. For morning walking, boots or high Moliere shoes are worn.

      If you wear boots you may wear any stockings you like, for no one sees them. But if you wear shoes you must adapt your stockings to your dress. Floss silk, Scotch thread, and even cotton stockings are worn for walking, silk stockings have returned into exclusively evening wear. Day stockings should be of the same color as the dress, but they may be shaded, or stripped, or dotted, just as you please. White stockings are absolutely forbidden for day wear—no one wears them—no one dares wear them under fashion's interdiction.

HOW TO APPEAR GRACEFUL IN WALKING.

       Table of Contents

      The whole secret of standing and walking erect consists in keeping the chin well away from the breast. This throws the head upward and backward, and the shoulders will naturally settle backward and in their true position. Those who stoop in walking generally look downward. The proper way is to look straight ahead, upon the same level with your eyes, or if you are inclined to stoop, until that tendency is overcome, look rather above than below the level. Mountaineers are said to be as "straight as an arrow," and the reason is because they are obliged to look upward so much. It is simply impossible to stoop in walking if you will heed and practice this rule. You will notice that all round-shouldered persons carry the chin near the breast and pointed downward. Take warning in time, and heed grandmother's advice, for a bad habit is more easily prevented than cured. The habit of stooping when one walks or stands is a bad habit and especially hard to cure.

MULTUM IN PARVO

       Table of Contents

HISTORY OF THE BIBLES OF THE WORLD.

       Table of Contents

      The Bibles of the world are the koran of the Mohammedans, the tripitaka of the Buddhists, the five kings of the Chinese, the three vedas of the Hindoos, the zendavesta of the Parsees and the scriptures of the Christians. The koran, says the Chicago Times, is the most recent, dating from the seventh century after Christ. It is a compound of quotations from both the Old and the New Testaments and from the talmud. The tripitaka contain sublime morals and pure aspirations. Their author lived and died in the sixth century before Christ.

      The sacred writings of the Chinese are called the five kings, the word "king" meaning web of cloth. From this it is presumed that they were originally written on five rolls of cloth. They contain wise sayings from the sages on the duties of life, but they can not be traced further back than the eleventh century before our era. The vedas are the most ancient books in the language of the Hindoos, but they do not, according to late commentators, antedate the twelfth before the Christian era. The zendaveata of the Parsees, next to our Bible, is reckoned among scholars as being the greatest and most learned of the sacred writings. Zoroaster, whose sayings it contains, lived and worked in the twelfth century before Christ. Moses lived and wrote the pentateuch 1,500 years before the birth of Jesus, therefore that portion of our Bible is at least 300 years older than the most ancient of other sacred writings. The eddas, a semi-sacred work of the Scandinavians, was first given to the world in the fourteen century A.D.

PRECIOUS STONES.

       Table of Contents

      ARRANGED ACCORDING TO COLOR AND IN ORDER OF HARDINESS.

      Limpid.—Diamond, Sapphire, Topaz, Rock-Crystal.

      Blue.—Sapphire, Topaz, Indicolite, Turquoise, Spinel, Aquamarine, Kaynite.

      Green.—Oriental Emerald, Chrysoberyl, Amazon Stone, Malachite, Emerald, Chrysoprase, Chrysolite.

      Yellow.—Diamond, Topaz, Fire-Opal.

      Red.—Sapphire-Ruby, Spinel-Ruby, Rubellite, Garnet, Brazilian-Topaz, Hyacinth, Carnelian.

      Violet.—Oriental-Amethyst, Amethyst.

      Black and Brown.—Diamond, Tourmaline, Hyacinth, Garnet.

HOW TO MEASURE CORN IN THE CRIB.

       Table of Contents

      Rule: 1st. Measure the length, breadth and height of the crib inside the rail; multiply them together and divide by two, the result is the number of bushels of shelled corn.

      2d. Level the corn so that it is of equal depth throughout, multiply the length, breath and depth together, and this product by four, and cut off one figure to the right of the product; the other will represent the number of bushels of shelled corn.

      3d. Multiply length by height, and then by width, add two ciphers to the result and divide by 124; this gives the number of bushels of ear corn.

HOME DRESSMAKING.

       Table of Contents

      The art of dressmaking in America has been of late years so simplified that almost anyone with a reasonable degree of executive ability can manufacture a fashionable costume by using an approved pattern and following the directions printed upon it, selecting a new pattern for each distinct style; while in Europe many ladies adhere to the old plan of cutting one model and using it for everything, trusting to personal skill or luck to gain the desired formation. However, some useful hints are given which are well worth offering after the paper pattern has been chosen.

      The best dressmakers here and abroad use silk for lining, but nothing is so durable or preserves the material as