The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1890-12-20
THE BELLIES OF ROME.
1t Required an Army of Slaves to Make
Their Morning Toilet.

Their Morning Toilet.
A writer in the Jenness-Miller hiaga-
zine describes as follows the morning
toilet of a Roman lady: According to
testimony, which is scarcely to be dis
puted, the sun could never have shone
upon less lovely object than Roman
lady in the days of the Caesars, when
she opened her eyes in the morning,
for before she opened her eyes great
deal had to be done. When she retired
to rest her face had been covered with
a plaster composed of bread and ass
milk, which had dried during the night
hours, and, consequently, presented in
the morning an appearance OF cracked
chalk. The purpose of the ass milk
was not only to preserve the delicacy of
the skin, but to renovate the lungs. and
so strong was that belief in the efficacy
Of the specific that some energetic
ladies bathed themselves in it seventy
times in the course Of a single day. Ino,
says Poppna, the favorite wife of Nero,
never set out on a journey without taxi
ing in her train whole herds of She
asses, that she might bathe whenever
she pleased to do 50.
The plaster of paris bust having weak
ened in tho morning in cracked condi-
ton, it was the Office of host of female
slaves to mature it into perfect beauty.
To clear the field for further operations
tho first of these gently washed away
with lul1ewarm milk the already crum-
bling mask, and left smooth face to be
colored by more reconcile artists. The
slave whose vocation it was to paint the
checks delicately laid on the red and
white, having moistened the pigment
with her own saliva The apparent Of
fensiveness Of this operation was dimin-
ished by certain number of scented
lozenges, which If the slave neglected to
take she suffered corporal punishment.
A precious article was the paint with
which the Roman domino was beauti-
fed; it was well worthy the case of
ivory and rock crystal in which it was
preserved. The principal ingredient in
the rcd paint was a moss, known by the
name of fucus, which is still to be
found on the Mediterranean coast. The
checks having been perfected the eye
lashes and eyebrows came in for their
share of attention, and third slave
dyed them with black mixture, which,
though called fuligo, was no common
SCOT, but composed of choice materials.
These blackened eyebrows and eye
lashes are absolutely indispensable if
the domino aspires in the slightest de-
gree to the character of beauty.
The curatress of the eyebrows was
followed by the tooth-brusher, who not
only performed the office which this
title implies, but handed to her mistress
specific chewed every morning to pre-
serve the teeth from decay. Even if
the teeth were not already in the head
of the lady, but had to be inserted by
the dexterous slave, the mastich was
still chewed to keep up appearance.
All this work done, was not the dom
ina beautiful? Yet the most important
operations had still to be performed
the hair had still been unconsidered.
And be it observed, that although black
ness was essential to the eyebrow of the
Roman belle, it was otherwise with her
hair, which was to be decidedly golden.
A whole division of female slaves was
devoted to it's decoration. The chief Of
them rubbed it over and over again with
o golden ointment, till the head COM
peted with the brightness of the rising
sun.
The polish thus laid on, two handy
craftswomen moved to Simultaneous
activity. One, armed with curling-irons,
produced an infinity of rings and ring
lets; another squirted through her teeth
variety of essences upon the lovely
head. Lastly came skillful negress,
who achieved tho more important
curls, and, twisting the back hair
into large round knot, secured
it with pin eight inches long,
art. To these several servants Herr AS
mus, the German antiquarian, who has
greatly aided us in bringing so many
details within the compass of small
cabinet picture, gives the prettiest
names in the world. The asses milk.
maid he calls Scapion, the painter Of the
checks is Phiale, the eyebrows are dyed
by Stimmi, the golden ointment is rub
bed in by Nape, Calamis holds the tongs
the lips of Psechas are the living fount
aims whence proceed the essences, and
the handy negress is Cypassis.
OF stays-those modern implements o.
self-torture-the DONNA knows nothing
nor would she have put them on If the,
had been perfectly familiar to her, fo
she does not believe in the beauty of ;
slender waist. Over short ''tunic" i
flung the "stola," which is itself loni
tunic reaching to the feet, with sleeve
that cover half the upper part Of tn
arm. When the opening in the stol
has boon closed with the aid of brooches
when embroidered, gray-colored shoe
have been put on, when the arms are en-
circled bygolden snakes with ruby eyer
when the ears are weighed with pearls
when tho fingers are loaded with rings
and when comb or two has been II
serted in the hair, tho lady is CON
pletely attired for indoors, presentin
the strongest possible contrast to tn
belle of the present day, and suggestin
the suspicion that ii the beautifiers al
doomed to hard work the dressers almo'
enjoy a sinecure. -