Social Life Part 82

[Ill.u.s.tration: SELECTING PAINTINGS FOR HOME DECORATION.]

Small rooms require medium-size pictures, which can be hung one above the other, and three may even be placed on line with good effect. For an ideal head in oil the frame should be of broad gilt. Hang it in a good light, and on one side group two small water-color pieces in the fas.h.i.+onable white band frame. For an oblong picture a small sketch under it looks well equipped.

A very large and beautiful picture sometimes sets the keynote of color for the apartment. Otherwise, subordinate them as decorations to the colorings of the room, as in the ivory and gold room.

In a room where there are to be many pictures, give rather a neutral color to the walls, merely as a picture background. Where there are finely decorated walls pictures are rather out of place, since one decoration spoils the effect of the other.

Mottoes.

The motto, whose revival is noted in the above t.i.tle, is the expression in architecture of some sentiment suitable to the place to which it is applied. It is more frequently and more noticeably in domestic architecture than elsewhere that the motto is found. Scarcely a country house of sufficient size to boast a hall and fireplace but announces in script or text a welcome to all guests or some appreciation of the comforts of its four walls. The favorite place for this motto is over the fireplace, either above or below the mantel shelf, and of all the old ones, "East or west, home is best," with its variety of expressions, is the favorite. "A man's house is his castle."

"Home is the resort Of love, of joy, of peace."

"A man's best things are nearest him;" "Our house is ever at your service;" "You are very welcome;" "Take the goods the G.o.ds provide thee"--any one of these will as appropriately welcome the stranger as the friend.

Over the mantel of one's private room the restful motto, "Duty done is the soul's fireside," may find appropriate place.

How to be Beautiful.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

To begin at the beginning: to insure a good complexion strict attention must be paid to the diet. Wholesome, well-cooked food must be eaten; regular exercise in the open air is another point, and the body must be bathed three hundred and sixty-five times a year. It may be considered almost supererogatory to remark that not any amount of cerates, washes or powders will cover or obliterate blotches, pimples and blackheads caused by unwholesome food or uncleanly habits. We may not be able to afford elegantly-appointed bath-rooms, but we all can indulge in a daily bath.

A quick and simple method for the busy housekeeper, which need only occupy a few moments, is as follows: buy a yard of coa.r.s.e Turkish toweling, and make of it two mittens. Have a bowl of warm water, in which dissolve some borax. This is soothing to tired nerves, besides rendering the skin soft and white. When ready, slip on one of the mittens, wet it thoroughly, rub well with soap, and quickly wash the body all over. All the impurities of the body are now on this mitten.

Lay it to one side. Put on the other mitten, and wash the body again.

The mittens may be washed and hung to dry, ready for the next bath.

Rub the skin briskly with a rough towel until it glows.

If this treatment is followed daily, with a tub-bath weekly, you will not complain of those tired, nervous headaches, your face will lose its sallowness, and your walk will gain in sprightliness. Here let us say, for the benefit of those who are obliged to live in rented houses, or who have no facilities for a bath-room, that a folding bathtub is now offered. It folds up somewhat after the manner of a folding bed. When closed it looks like a cabinet, and is nicely finished in oak. In connection with it is a tank and heating apparatus. The water may be heated with gas, kerosene or gasoline.

Lemon juice, diluted, is a famous whitener for the skin, as are all vegetable acids, such as tomato, cuc.u.mber and watermelon. Oftentimes something is needed to heal as well as whiten. For this, take two tablespoonfuls of oatmeal and cook it with enough water to form a thin gruel, strain, and when cool add to two tablespoonfuls of the gruel one tablespoonful of lemon juice. Wash the face with this at night, allowing it to dry on the skin. This is excellent for a s.h.i.+ny face.

Another very soothing preparation to use at night is made of one ounce of glycerine, half an ounce of rosemary (fluid), and twenty drops of carbolic acid. This is excellent for any irritation of the skin, and also for p.r.i.c.kly heat. The face must always be well washed with water and pure soap before applying any of these preparations. If the skin is oily, bathe with diluted camphor (a teaspoonful to a pint of water), but it is injurious to a naturally dry skin.

Treatment for a Rough Skin.

A wash for a rough face is two ounces of water, one ounce of glycerine, one ounce of alcohol, and half an ounce of gum of benzoin, to be dissolved in the alcohol first. Apply at night. For wrinkles--do we see some of you looking interested?--take some clippings of sheep's wool and steep in hot alcohol. It is said that the grease thus obtained is identical with an element found in the human bile. I know that if rubbed on the skin it not only removes but prevents wrinkles, making the skin soft and pliable. These remedies all have the merit of being harmless, which cannot be said of all cosmetics.

Let us give one more recipe, and that is for brightening the eyes.

When you are tired and warm, and your eyes are dull, take a cloth and wring it out of very hot water, as hot as you can bear it. Lie down for ten minutes with this cloth spread over your burning face and tired eyes. You will be surprised to see how the tired lines will fade out and how the eyes will s.h.i.+ne, and when your "dearest" comes home he will pay you a compliment which will more than reward you.

Reducing Flesh.

The real mode of life and diet should be changed if the fat would be reduced. If necessary, procure a pair of scales and weigh the different foods that are taken into the system. Reduce the diet then to about four ounces of starch or sugar material per day, one and a half ounces of fat, taken chiefly in the form of b.u.t.ter, and about six or seven ounces of alb.u.minous food, such as lean meat or fish. This is the minimum that should be resorted to, and the patient can take more of each at first and reduce the diet gradually to this point. The proportion of the different food compounds, however, with the exception of figs, dates, grapes and nuts, should also be eaten daily, and one-third of a pound of some of the following vegetables: asparagus, turnips, cuc.u.mbers, parsley, watercress, celery, kale or cabbage. Fluids have a fattening tendency, and they must be taken in small quant.i.ties.

The drinking should be confined to tea, coffee or water, and never should be taken at mealtime, nor within one hour of a meal. This is peremptory, for food will produce fat much quicker and surer when watered by some good beverage.

Refres.h.i.+ng Sleep.

What is the correct method to pursue in preparing for a trip into dreamland, for there is a right as well as a wrong way? The business of disrobing should be so systematized that attending to all the little niceties included in the process will become, after a while, second nature. There is something more to be done, let us a.s.sure you, in addition to putting your hair up in curl-papers and dabbing a bit of cold cream on your face, if you would wake up in the morning looking as fresh as a rose. In the first place, do not put off these important preparations until you are so heavy-lidded that you are ready to give everything belonging to the toilet the go by. And now for the first step. Early in the evening your sleeping apartments should be thoroughly aired by dropping the window from the top and raising it at the bottom.

The current of fresh air is especially important when the room has been, as so many sleeping apartments are, in constant use all day. Ten minutes will be quite sufficient for toning up the atmosphere. Now close the window and allow the room to become thoroughly warmed, that you may not experience a chill while taking a rub down. Prepare a big bowl of tepid water, into which you sprinkle a small quant.i.ty of ammonia or borax. Take a Turkish towel, which is much better than a sponge, wring it out as dry as possible, and, grasping a corner in each hand, give the spine a vigorous rubbing. Have at hand another Turkish towel, and as you bathe the body in sections, dry as quickly as possible.

From the points of your rosy toes to the curve of your soft throat you are a blus.h.i.+ng model of the charming effects of the bath. When finished, slip over your head a soft little s.h.i.+rt, high neck and short sleeves (a white silk or lisle thread is the best), the rosy skin beneath giving it the appearance of being lined with pink silk. Then comes the nightrobe, and next the pajama or lounging robe, which may be of anything, from flannel to eider down.

Tuck your feet into a pair of bedroom slippers, and you are ready to attend to minor details. Never think of retiring in any article of clothing which you have worn during the day. Such a barbarous custom has nothing whatever in common with health and refinement. Neither is it well to discard everything but your nightgown, for it is exceedingly dangerous to chill the system by night draughts.

How to Take Care of the Eyes.

Avoid sudden changes from darkness to brilliant light.

Avoid the use of stimulants and drugs which affect the nervous system.

Avoid reading when lying down or when mentally and physically exhausted.

When the eyes feel tired rest them by looking at objects at a long distance.

Pay special attention to the hygiene of the body, for that which tends to promote the general health acts beneficially upon the eye.

Do not depend on your own judgment in selecting spectacles.

Old persons should avoid reading much by artificial light, be guarded as to diet and avoid sitting up late at night.

After fifty, bathe the eyes morning and evening with water so hot that you wonder how you stand it; follow this with cold water that will make them glow with warmth.

Do not give up in despair when you are informed that a cataract is developing; remember that in these days of advanced surgery it can be removed with little or no danger to vision.

Never read in bed or when lying upon the sofa. Sit with your back to the light as much as possible. Attend to your digestion. Do not work longer than two hours without closing your eyes and resting them for five minutes. If your eyes are weak, bathe them in water to which a little salt and a little brandy have been added.

The Hair and How to Take Care of It.

If the hair has that soft, glossy look that tells of regular care, and if it is well kept, with every pin in its place, you may rely upon it that its owner possesses the instinct of ladyhood.

Each hair has tiny p.r.o.ngs or tentacles, something like those on the c.o.c.kle bur, which catch the dust; hence the especial need of brus.h.i.+ng.

At a lady's school in England, some twenty years ago, the girls were required to brush their hair for fifteen minutes daily in the long dressing-room, and they were timed at this exactly as if it were any other exercise.

Occasionally the hair and the scalp need was.h.i.+ng, as the face, though less often if the brus.h.i.+ng be carefully attended to. When, however, it begins to seem dirty, give it a good shampooing. Wash both hair and scalp thoroughly in a washbowl of warm water in which has been dissolved a tablespoonful of powdered borax; then rinse it well in clear warm water; you will be surprised sometimes at the complexion of the water.