Morning journal and courier., 1883-04-23
Ancient Tricks of the Toilet.
From Mrs. Palmer's "Home-Life in the Bible.

From Mrs. Palmer8 "dome-L1te Tn the B1Dle
 The use of cosmetics in connection with the bath prevailed among the wealthy women of very remote period. At the magnificent court of Ahasuerus, in the seventh year of his reign, the following elaborate processes of 'spuriication" were prescribed for the maidens destined for the king s harem Being gathered together into Shushan the palace, + to the custody of Illegal, keeper of the women" " they abode in the "women's house, and 'fso were the days of their puri- fcations accomplished, to wit: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors, and with other things for the purify ing of women" (Esth. ii 8, 12). The Song of Songs is rich in fgurative allusions to these s'sweet odors, '' it's last rspturous note echoing from the mountains of spices ;" myrrh and frankincenss, with all powders of the merchant ;" campfire, with SD kenard and saffron ca1amus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankinoense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices ;" ''my hands dropped myrrh, and my fingers sweet smelling myrrh ; ''his cheeks are as bed of spices, as sweet flowers his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh :' the ''mandrakes' and the pleasant fruits"
 It is most interesting to learn, in connec- tior with another oouplet of this exquisite song, ''My beloved is unto me as cluster of campfire in the vineyards of En-gedi, that En-gedi is the one only place in all Palestine where camphor still grows This plant IS better known by it's Arabian name henna 1t is a tall shrub, whose white and yellow flow CTS grow in clusters, like our familiar lilac. The eastern women are still fond of wearing these fragrant blossoms in their hair or their bosoms; but is is ancient dye that the plant has come into special notice. The dried leaves of the henna were crushed and made into paste with water, and applied to the palms of the hands, to the nails of the fingers and toes, and to the hair, if the discovery of IL "A used by the men to dye the hair and beard, and even applied sometimes to color the main and tail of favorite horse. The an- tiquity of this custom is demonstrated by it's frequent mention by writers of very early period, and even more conclusively by the fact that the nails of some Egyptian mum mics (especially those of women) still retain the stain of the dye
 Painting the eyelids and eyebrows with kohl was another eastern fashion (not yet extinct) of equal popularity. The large, Ian gushing black eye, shaded with long dark lashes, has doubtless always s been the dis tinguishing feature of beauty in the dusky daughters of the East and it is not surpris- ing that they have tenaciously retained practice supposed to enhance it's size and brightness The black powder called kohl was made of several substances; stibium, or antimony, with zinc and oil or burnt al- mond shells, mixed with liban, a sort of
 
 made of powder of lead ore, and was consid- cred not only ornamental, but beneficial, by reason of certain medicinal properties This kohl was kept in boxes or vials of wood, stone, or pottery, having several compart- ments, and often highly ornamented. It was applied with small stick of wood, ivory, or silver, which was first wet in rose-water, dipped into the black powder; and drawn carefully along the edges of the eyellds, ootn upper and under. In the same way the arcn of the eyebrow was darkened and elongated This practice of eye-paint1ng must nave Deen in great popularity early as the tune or Job; for Keren-happach, the name or the vounoest of his three beautiful daughters, signifies "a horn for paint ;" that IS "a bottle for kohl.' It was esteemed 8 great mark of beauty that the eyebrows should meet over the nose in the form of 8 bow; and it was common to initiate in this respect by the use of the kohl, but this had to be removed in seasons of mourning, and, if the hair actually grew there, it must be plucked out.
 In the toilet of that rare Jewish beauty of the apocryphal story. Judith, the widow of Manasses, which vas made in the highest interests of religion and patriotism, as ex- pounded in the day of that historical fiction, there is so full 8 recapitulation of the several customs in connection with womens dress, that it seems appropriate to introduce the description in closing the subject The narrative reads thus: ''She put of the gar ment of her widowhood, and washed her body all over with water, and annointed her self with precious ointment, and braided the hair of her head and put tire upon it, and put on her garments of gladness. She took sandals upon her feet, and put about her her bracelets and her chains and her rings and her earrings and all her ornaments, and decked herself bravsly"