The Ladies Book of Useful Information. Anonymous

d'Hebe.—This pomade is used for the removal of wrinkles. To make: Melt white wax, one ounce, to gentle heat; add juice of lily bulbs, two ounces; add honey, two ounces; rose-water, two drams; and otto of roses, a drop or two. Use twice a day.

      Lotion for Wrinkles.—Beautifies the face, preserves the freshness of youth, and gives a beautiful brilliancy to the skin. Take the second water of barley, one pint, and strain through a piece of fine linen; add a dozen drops of the balm of Mecca; shake it well together until the balm is thoroughly incorporated with the water, which will be effected when the water assumes a whitish or turgid appearance. Before applying, wash the face with soft water. If used once a day, this lotion will beautify the face, remove wrinkles, preserve the freshness of youth, and give a surprising brilliancy to the skin.

      Wash for Wrinkles.—Take two ounces of the juice of onions, two ounces of the white lily, two ounces of Norboune honey, and one ounce of white wax; put the whole into a new earthen pipkin until the wax is melted, then take the pipkin (crock) off the fire, and continue stirring briskly until the mixture grows cold. This should be applied on going to bed and allowed to remain on till the morning.

      To Remove Wrinkles.—To one fluid ounce of tincture of gum benzoin add seven fluid ounces of distilled rose-water and one-half ounce of glycerine. Bathe face, neck, and hands with it at night, letting it dry on. Wash off in the morning with a very little pure white castile soap and soft water. This is a famous cosmetic, and has been sold under various names. It is an excellent remedy for tan, freckles, and sunburn also.

      HOW TO HAVE BRILLIANT, BEAUTIFUL EYES.

      Beautiful eyes are the gift of nature; but even those of the greatest beauty may owe something to the toilet, while those of an indifferent kind are very susceptible of improvement. We entirely discountenance any tampering with the eye itself, with a view to giving it luster or brightness. The sight has often been injured by the use of belladonna, preparations of the calabar bean, eyebright, and other substances having a strong effect on the eyes. But without touching the eye itself, it is possible to give the effect of brightness, softness, etc., by means of the eyelids and eyelashes. Made-up eyes are by no means desirable, and to many are singularly displeasing; but the same may be said of made-up faces generally. Some ladies are, however, persuaded that it adds to their charms to give the eyes a long, almond shape—after the Egyptian type—while very many are persuaded that the eye is not seen to advantage unless its apparent size is increased by the darkening of the lids. Both these effects are produced by kohl, a black powder, which may be procured at the chemist's, and is mixed with rose-water and applied with a camel's-hair brush.

      To Cure Weak Eyes.—It is well to have on the toilet table a remedy for inflamed eyes. Spermaceti ointment is simple and well adapted for the purpose. Apply at night, and wash off with rose-water in the morning. Golden ointment will serve a like purpose. Or, there is a simple lotion made by dissolving a very small piece of alum and a piece of lump sugar of the same size in a quart of water. Put the ingredients into water cold and let them simmer. Bathe the eyes frequently with it. Sties in the eyes are irritating and disfiguring. Foment with warm water; at night apply a bread and milk poultice. When a white head forms, prick it with a fine needle. Should the inflammation be obstinate, a little citerine ointment may be applied, care being taken that it does not get into the eye, and an aperient should be tried.

      To Improve the Eyelashes.—Many people speak highly of this secret. Trim the tiny points slightly, and anoint with this salve: Two drams of ointment of nitric oxida of mercury, and one dram of lard. Mix the lard and ointment well, and anoint the edges of the eyelids night and morning, after each time, with milk and water. This will restore the lashes when all other remedies fail. It is not known in this country, and is a valuable secret.

      To Cure Weakness of Eyes.—Sulphate of copper, fifteen grains; camphor, four grains; boiling water, four ounces. Mix, strain, and when cold make up to four pints with water. Bathe the eyes night and morning with a portion of the mixture.

      How to Have Beautiful Eyelashes.—The effect of the eyes is greatly aided by beautiful eyelashes. These may be secured to a certain extent by a little care, especially if it is taken early in life. The extreme ends should be cut with a pair of small, sharp scissors, care being taken to preserve the natural outline, not to leave jagged edges. Attention to this matter results in the lengthening of the lashes. Dyeing them is another expedient often resorted to for increasing their effect. A good permanent black is all that is needed, and for this use Indian ink. As an impromptu expedient to serve for one night, a hairpin held for a few seconds in the flame of a candle, and drawn through the lashes, will serve to color them well, and with sufficient durability. It need scarcely be added that the hairpin must be suffered to grow cold before it is used, or the consequence may be that no eyelash will be left to color. Good eyebrows are not to be produced artificially. It is possible, however, to prevent those that are really good from degenerating through neglect. When wiping the face dry after washing, pass a corner of the towel over the forefinger and set the eyebrows in the form you wish them to assume. And when oiling the hair, do not forget to oil the eyebrows also.

      To Cure Watery and Inflamed Eyes.—Foment frequently with decoction of poppy heads. When the irritation and inflammation occur, a teaspoonful of cognac brandy in four ounces of spring water may be used three or four times in the course of the day as a strengthening lotion.

      General Care of the Eyes.—The eyes, of all the features, stand pre-eminent for their beauty and ever-varying powers of expression, and for being the organs of the most exalted, delicate and useful of the senses. It is they alone that “reveal the external forms of beauty to the mind, and enable it to perceive them, even at a distance, with the speed of light. It is they alone that clothe the whole creation with the magic charms of color, and fix on every object the identity of figure. It is the eyes alone, or chiefly, that reveal the emotions of the mind to others, and that clothe the features with the language of the soul. Melting with pity, or glowing with hope, or redolent with love, benevolence, desire, or emulation, they impart to the countenance those vital fascinations which are the peculiar attributes of man.” “And when the mind is subdued by fear, anxiety or shame, or overwhelmed by sorrow or despair, the eyes, like faithful chroniclers, still tell the truthful story of the mental disquietude. And hatred, anger, envy, pride, and jealousy, ambition, avarice, discontent, and all the varied passions and emotions that torment, excite or depress the human soul, and find a resting place in the human breast, obtain expression in the eyes. At one moment the instruments of receiving and imparting pleasure, at another the willing or passive instruments of pain, their influences and changes are as varied and boundless as the empire of thought itself.” Through their silent expressions the mind reveals its workings to the external world in signs more rapid and as palpable as those uttered by the tongue. It is “the eyes alone that stamp the face with the outward symbol of animation and vitality,” and which endue it with the visible “sanctity of reason.” The eye is, indeed, the chief and most speaking feature of the face, and the one on whose excellence, more than any other, its beauty depends.

      Theories have been based on even the peculiar color of the eyes. Thus, it is said that dark blue eyes are found chiefly in persons of delicate, refined or effeminate mental character; light blue eyes, and more particularly gray eyes, in the hardy and active; hazel eyes, in the masculine, vigorous, and profound; black eyes, in those whose energy is of a desultory or remittent character, and who exhibit fickleness in pursuits and affection. Greenish eyes, it is asserted, have the same general meaning as gray eyes, with the addition of selfishness or a sinistrous disposition. These statements, however, though based on some general truths, and supported by popular opinion, are liable to so many exceptions as to be unreliable and valueless in their individual applications.

      Shakespeare is said to have had hazel eyes; Swift, blue eyes; Milton, Scott, and Byron, gray eyes. Wellington and Napoleon are also said to have had gray eyes.

      A beautiful eye is one that is full, clear, and brilliant; appropriate in color to the complexion, and in form to the features, and of which the connected parts—the eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows,