Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-07-24
ARSENIC EATING.
Beauty for a Time, Then Positive
UglineSs and the Grave.
WOmtn BlrrOWlng IIluslVe Chal ms
That kepel Men Of Intelligence
The Prevalence Of the Use
Of q Deadly Drug.


"She is one of the arsenic eaters"
"One Of your patients?"
"No. | never saw her before.
But her vice and folly are written
on her face so plainly that he who
runs may read"
"Why does she eat arsenic?"
"To make her pretty, as she
fondly imagines. And it docs SEEM
ingly do so temporarily. | will tell
you the signs by which you may
know arsenic eaters, and yet you
will be astonished at the number
addicted to the vice. When you
see a woman with a swollen skin
and puffy eyelids, plump and with
a milky whiteness of complexion,
you may be sure that you have a
case. They think they are plump,
but it is a fictitious plumpness.
Instead of good adipose tissue fill
ing out the skin, there is only a
watery secretion. They have
brought about a dropsical condition
of the skin. And the first, most
prominentplace in which it becomes
apparent is in the eyelids, first the
lower, then the upper. Examine
the skin and you will see that the
pores seem enlarged and the skin
between them swollen and of an un-
natural whiteness. And this is not
confined to the face alone, you un.
derstapd. ! speak of the face simply
because that you can see. And
when you look for that transparent
white color on their faces don't be
deceived by a delicate tinge of red,
II the brow and nose have that
corpsey white, the red on the
cheeks is paint. And no woman
who uses arsenic can do without
paint"
"Are there many arsenic caters
in New York;"
"A VERY GREAT MANY"
the aged physician replied. "They
are Of two classes, actresses and the
ladies of fashionable society. After
arsenic has been taken for a long
time" the doctor continued, sit il
demanded by the system. 1t no
only affects the skin but it lessons
the excretioa of carbonic acid anC
urea-checking the rstrograde met.
amorpbosis- stimulates the peFebra
functions, induces a sense of well
being, and in some subjects causes
decided mental exhilaratiQn. Fur
thermore, cessation of its use per
mits the water-distended skin tC
collapse, and then wrinkles anC
yellowness follow instead Of plump
ness and transparency, What wo
man could you expect to accep
that change when nothing mos,
than her sanity and life was in dan
ger? 1t is also said that the sud
den stopping of the habit will pro
duce all the symptoms Of arsepi
poisoning, Rnd even result ia
tally"
A lady whose beautiful face ha
for several years past been famils
to theater-goers says
81 have used arsenic, and do s,
yet, but am trying to give it NJ
Ny doctor says l can do SO gradu
ally, and advises me to a course c
very generous living in the cOun
try to make up the loss in apparen
roundness that my face and igur
. must undergo from stopping th
practice. know that it is inevii
able, for ] have gone through
before. If his recipe doesn't wor
like o charm, shall have to 60 bac
to Fowler's solution, for you kno'
l can't afford to lose my good look
for few years yet. When / get t
be as old as Mrs. ----, who think
she can play leading business yet,
won't matter so much.
THOUSANDS or WOMEN
use arsenic. No, not in the worl
at large; I mean right here in Ne
York. For those in my proIessio
there is some excuse, for to us pei
: sonal attractions are a necessity,
e question of business. Even If
woman hasn't got much brain
managers are ready enough to er