Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-01-20
BEAUTY AND HER BATH.


Ii
Adern Their Baihrooms.
CFrom the Chicago Herald
All fashionable Paris is buying s new
volume entitled Directions for woman's
Toilet, +" and the publication of such book
in France is not without significance as q
sign of how ideas are progressing In that
country.
"Unhappy ages" says the author, 'fn
which people were ignorant of the use of
water, "a thousand years without a bath, >
as Micelet puts it in one of his historical
works. And pestilences and other horrible
maladies desolated poor humanity-in fact,
only to read how the courtiers of Louis
XIV. neglected their persons makes one
sick with disgust" Even in the unwashed
ages gone by the noted beauties found out
the secret of preserving their loveliness by
sblutionsry sids. Issbesu of Bavaria heard
that chickenweed was good for the skin,
and had enormous decoctions brewed and
bsthed in them daily. Diana of Poitiers
was another of the cleAnly coquettes and
plunged into a tub of rain water every
morning.
The eighteenth century beauties likewise
went in for Tubing, and put all sorts of
funny decoctions into the water TO iH-
prove their skin, such as the bouillon In
which veal had been boiled, water distilled
from the honey extracted from roses, O
preparation of almonds, lemon juice, the
milky juices of green barley, and linseed
distilled with Mexican balm dissolved by
the yolk of an egg. These rather nasty
sounding connections were freely used by
the ladies who summed themselves at the
rnrrrtG nF xl-fs hafnrA thz Rzr-p1-ssn-,
Queen Marie Antoinette made liberal use
of a tub" putting into the water wild
thyme, laurel leaves snd q little Sea salt
Marie Czetwertynoska, the Russian besufy,
who exercised 90 great an influence over
Car Alexander l., used to bathe In Malaga
wine, after which the wine was sold to per-
sons about the court for their table con
sumption without disguise As to .ts previ-
Gus use.
This Is he way the authoress describes
the Cabinets de Toileites'' of Partisan wo-
men of taste ''Some have the walls tiled
With porcelain in blue, rose color OF pale
green, and the effect is bright and cleAnly,
but rather cold 10 the eye. People gensr-
ally prefer hAngings on the walls in neuter
colors or pale tints so as not 10 kill the
effect of the toilets Often silks of q pale
or bright hue are recovered with tulle or
muslin in order to tone down their oolors
and at the same time keep the effect Of the
texture and folds. Creionnes, with large
flowers. are also used for the walls, but
these thread -and-cotton stufis always have
rather q stiff look.
'T myself should like my dressing room
done up in sky-blue or lilac, etc, under
point d'esprit tulle, for these colors, from
which all dresses stand out well, would be
well retained through the transparent ma
terisl On the floor should be a pearl gray
carpet, with roses on ii, or pearl gray and
lilac. From the ceiling should hang q
small chandelier, Of which one could light
the candles for dressing for the evening. /
mean wax candles, well fired into their
holders and shaded with Horsl-colored glass
Sc as to give pleasing light and yet not
spill wax on velvet or brocade dresses
The windows should be of ground glass,
with pretty designs, and be well drsped
with silk and tulle curtains having q lace
border"