(Eh? i. '£. Bill ffiibranj 
 
 North (Carolina £tate Uninpraity 
 
 Z. SMITH REYNOLDS 
 FOUNDATION 
 
 COLLECTION IN 
 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 NCSU Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/bookofperfumesOOrimm 
 
5 H 
 
9 
 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 LTHOTJGH I am aware thai Prefaces are 
 out of fashion, and that it is now custo- 
 mary to plunge at once in media* res, I feel 
 J/s^y^xQa l )0luu l i n this instance to deviate from the 
 general rule, and to explain how I was led to emerge 
 from the depths of my laboratory, and to appear thus 
 before the public in an entirely new character. Four 
 years ago, I had to prepare for the Society of Arts 
 a paper on "The Art of Perfumery, its History and 
 Commercial Development," and, to qualify myself for the 
 task, I was forced to devour a huge pile of big book* 
 in order to ascertain through what mysterious arts the 
 Ancients ministered to the gratification of their olfac- 
 tory sense, and to the embellishment of "the human 
 face divine." Two years later, I was called upon 
 to form part of the Jury at the Great Exhibition, 
 and to draw up the official report of the Perfumer; 
 class. The researches I had to make on the former 
 occasion, and the observations I gathered on the latter, 
 gave me a complete insight into the world of "sweet 
 smells," both ancient and modern; and, thinking that 
 the notes T had thus collected, combined with the 
 
 Sit m^^^^m 
 
 _=£o>W ■■■&- 
 
' ' 1 
 
 results of my experience as a practical perfumer, and 
 of my rambles in foreign lands, might prove in- 
 teresting to some readers, and especially to ladies, 
 I published in the "Englishwoman's Magazine" a 
 series of articles on the " History of Perfumery and 
 the Toilet." These few stray leaves having met witli 
 a much more favourable reception than I had pre- 
 sumed to anticipate, I have been induced to re-publish 
 them in the shape of a book, adding thereto a great 
 deal of fresh matter, and numerous illustrations. 
 
 Many writers have already exercised their pen on 
 the subject of Perfumery, from Aspasia, the wife of 
 Pericles, to Mr. Charles Lilly, the Perfumer, of the 
 Strand, at the corner of Beaufort Buildings, whose pre- 
 mises I have now the honour of occupying, and whose 
 name was immortalized in the "Tatler," and other 
 magazines of the period. The list of these works 
 would be long and tedious, and those that are worth 
 noticing will be found chronicled in their proper place 
 in the following juages. 
 
 Modern books on Perfumery may be divided into 
 two classes, some being simply books of recipes, laying 
 claim to a useful purpose which, however, they do not 
 fulfil, since they contain nothing but antiquated 
 formulas long discarded by intelligent practitioners ; 
 and others being what our neighbours call reclames, 
 namely, works written in a high-flown style, but inva- 
 riably terminating en queue dc poisson, with the praise 
 of some preparation manufactured by the author. 
 
 Besides these productions, articles on Perfumery 
 
 ? 
 
&§m$k£ .;,: 
 
 s 
 
 :-,V. f '"-w- 
 
 have occasionally appeared in periodicals ; but though 
 some of them are handled with evident talent, the 
 want of technical knowledge on the pari of the writers 
 considerably impairs their value. I may mention as 
 an instance an essay of that kind lately published by 
 the "Grand Journal," in which a certain Parisian 
 doctor gravely asserts that rouge is made of ver- 
 milion, and commits numerous oilier blunders, which 
 may pass unnoticed by the general public, bul which 
 in the eye of a practical man, denote his utter igno- 
 rance of the subject he attempted to treat. 
 
 In writing this book, I have endeavoured to steer 
 clear of these objections, by adopting the following 
 plan, which will be found to differ entirely from those 
 .■>f my prede cO B BOra . After devoting a few pages to 
 the physiology of odours in general, I trace the his- 
 tory of perfumes and cosmetics from the earliest times 
 to the present period, and that is the principal feature 
 of my work. I then briefly describe the various modes 
 in use for extracting the aromas from plants and 
 Bowers, and conclude with a summary of the principal 
 fragrant materials used in our manufacture ; in true, 
 I give all the information which I think likely to 
 interest the general reader. The only recipes which 
 I quote are those which I think, from their qoaintness, 
 likely to amuse, but I abstain from giving modern 
 formula?, for the following reasons, which I hope ina\ 
 appear sutiicii nt : 
 
 There was a time when ladies had a private still- 
 room of their own, and personally superintended the 
 
 ^~- • fit* ^tiSM@m&: 
 
 

 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^S^ 
 
 -"*— 
 
 various " confections " used for their toilet ; but it 
 was then almost a matter of necessity, since native 
 perfumers were scarce, and exotic preparations ex- 
 pensive and difficult to procure. Such is not the 
 case now : good perfumers and good perfumes are 
 abundant enough ; and, with the best recipes in the 
 world, ladies would be unable to equal the productions 
 of our laboratories, for how could they procure the 
 various materials which we receive from all parts of 
 the world ? And were they even to succeed in so doing, 
 there would still be wanting the necessary utensils 
 and the modus faciendi, which is not easily acquired. 
 I understand the use of a cookery-book, for the 
 culinary art is one that must be practised at home. 
 but perfumery can always be bought much better 
 and cheaper from dealers, than it could be manufac- 
 tured privately by untutored persons. 
 
 The recipes, therefore, admitting them to be genuine, 
 would only be of use to those who follow the same 
 pursuit as myself. But is it to be reasonably ex- 
 pected that, after spending my life in perfecting my 
 art, I am thus to throw away the result of my 
 labours in a fit of Quixotic generosity ? Had I dis- 
 covered some means of alleviating the sufferings of 
 my fellow-creatures, I should think myself in duty 
 bound to divulge my secret for the benefit of hu- 
 manity at large; but I do not feel impelled by the 
 same considerations to give to niy rivals in trade the 
 benefit of my practical experience, for then, indeed, 
 "Othello's occupation" would be "gone." This may be 
 
 3 
 
 MrV 
 
:+**? 
 
 1 
 
 :, 
 
 though! by some a selfish way of reasoning ; but on 
 due reflection, they will Hud thai I am only more sincere 
 than those who appear to act differently. As a proof, 
 I need but point out the inconsistency of a perfumer 
 who claims some superiority for his art in compounding, 
 and who, at the same time, explains by what means 
 he attains that superiority. Is he not at once de- 
 stroying his prestige if he professes to enable others 
 to manufacture just as well as himself P The con- 
 clusion of all this is, that the recipes given in books 
 are never those actually used; and I say, therefore, 
 cui bono ? 
 
 If I have avoided recipes, 1 have also shunned any 
 allusions to my personal trade. As a man of business, 
 I do not underrate the value of advertisements; but 
 I like everything in its place, and consider this hybrid 
 mixture of literature and putt', an insult to the good 
 sense of the reader. 
 
 Before I close this brief address, I wish to acknow- 
 ledge, with bed thanks, the aaaiBtance 1 have receiyed 
 in the shape of very interesting notes, from many oi 
 my friends and correspondents, among whom I max 
 mention, Mr. Edward Greey, of the Royal West 
 India Mail Company; Mr. Chapelie, of Tunis; Mr. 
 Thnnot, of Tahiti; Mr. Schmidt, of Shang-llae; Mr. 
 Ekingre, of Manilla; Professor Mnller, of Melbourne; 
 Mr. Hannaford, of Madras; and last, not least, Mr. S. 
 Henry Berthoud, the eminent French litterateur, who 
 very kindly placed his unique museum at my disposal. 
 I have also found some valuable information in thl 
 
 m 
 
 ■ 
 
 •^-r; 
 
M 
 
 ¥ 
 
 v\ 
 
 following books (besides others mentioned in the course 
 of the work) : — Sir Gardner Wilkinson's " Ancient 
 Egyptians;" Mr. Layard's "Xineveh;" Mr. Eastwiek's 
 excellent translations of Sadi's " Gulistiiu," and the 
 " AnTar-i SuhaiH;" Mr. Monier "Williams's no less 
 admirable adaptation of " Sakoontala ; " Consul Pethe- 
 rick's " Egypt, the Soudan, and Central Africa ;" Dr. 
 Livingstone's "Travels," and Mr. Wright's " Domestic 
 Manners and Sentiments During the Middle Ages." 
 I have not the honour of knowing these authors, but 
 I hope they will excuse me for having borrowed 
 from them what belonged to my subject. 
 
 In conclusion, I crave for this offspring of mv leisure 
 hours (which are but few), the same indulgence which 
 has been shown to the objects contained in the Work- 
 men's Exhibitions lately held in various parts of the 
 Metropolis, in which the labour and difficulty in pro- 
 ducing an article is more taken into account than the 
 actual merit of the production. Mine is a plain, un- 
 varnished tale, without any literary pretension what- 
 ever ; and if I have picked up a few gems on my way, 
 and inserted them in my mosaic work, I claim but to 
 be the humble cement which holds them together. 
 
 EUGENE EIMMEL. 
 
 1= 
 
 96, Stra.vd, \oth Deefmber, 1864 
 
 J 
 
 ~. 'V 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 Physiology OP Pi Bl OKES. 
 
 The sense of smell— Origin of Perfumery— The Perfumer"* art- 
 Perfumea need al iir-t I -PI" ofthi* work— Nature ol 
 
 odours— Moral cloak— < of odoorB— Influence of scent* 
 
 ,,„ memorj— Kedicuial prop ' " perfnmeB by the 
 
 -Flower* more injurioua than perrbmee— Natural in 
 prefer pleasant odours 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Tin; EOSPTXANS. 
 
 Perfumes applied to three distinct purposes in Egypt— Religious 
 -The geared Lull, Apia— Ointment* , Bared to the gods— The 
 
 Oasis— Pr bsubib— Kings anointed -'■ 
 
 for .iiit.iihniim' the dead— Inoenaa and honors paid to mummies— 
 
 raaae— Animal* embalmed— Modern mode of embaln 
 
 its — The Brrf perfnmeBi— Cosmetic* oaed by ladie a— T he 
 
 toilet of an Egyptian belle— Cleopatra and Mark Antony— Egyptian 
 
 , ini ,,. .,- scene— The hair and beard— 
 
 . — Ladies' head-dresses lj 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Noah'* sacrifice— Balm of Gilead— Altar of incense— Holy incense 
 and anointing oil— Jewish knurs anointa d OUcto , onyohs, and gal- 
 Ihiiiiiii rwltiM against oaing holy perfume* fat printe purposes— 
 Purification of wameor-Eathei and a ha menu — Judith and II. I - 
 
 

 ■VJ^S> 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 femes — Solomon's Song — Aromatics used by the Jews — Camphire — 
 Spikenard — Saffron — Frankincense — Myrrh — Aloes — Clothes and 
 beds perfumed— Aromatic plants abundant in Judaea — Anointing — 
 Embalming — Soap not known by the Jews — Cosmetics and toilet 
 implements — Jewish customs preserved in the Holy Land — Jewish 
 ornaments — Mode of wearing the hair — King Solomon's pages ... 37 
 
 ■-? 
 
 a ! 
 
 3 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Ancient Asiatic Nations. 
 
 The garden of Eden — Ancient authors and modern discoveries — 
 Assyrian deities and worship — The temple of Belus — Nimrod's altar — 
 Zoroaster — Origin of the sacred fire — Sardanapalus — Nineveh and 
 Babylon — The hanging gardens — Babylonian perfumes and cos- 
 metics — Parsondes and Nanarus — Astyages and Cyrus — The Persians — 
 Darius and his perfume-chest — Antiochus Epiphanes — A "sweet" 
 monarch — The Lydians — The hair and beard — Ladies' head-dresses — 
 The marriage -market at Babylon — Mausolus, and his little specu- 
 lation 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Greeks. 
 
 Greek deities and sacrifices — Eleusinian mysteries — Juno's toilet — 
 Pallas and Penelope — Phaon's transformation — Medea's renovating 
 process — Origin of Greek perfumery — Diogenes' notions about scents — 
 List of Greek perfumes — Athenian perfumers — Grecian entertain- 
 ments — Socrates' horror of scents and baths — Milto — Greek cosmetics 
 and hair dye — Lais and Myron — Funeral rites — Anaereon's wish — 
 The toilet tribunal — Grecian ladies' head-dresses — Hair cut off in 
 mourning , 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Romans. 
 
 Early Roman sacrifices — Religious worship and funeral rites — 
 Tieinus Menas — Lucius Plotius — The Roman emperors' taste for per- 
 fumes — Roman baths — The Emperor Hadrian — Caracalla's laths — 
 A matron at her toilette — Roman perfumes and cosmetics — Roman 
 perfumers — Catullus and Martial — -A Roman beau — Poppnea's fifty 
 asses — Ovid's book on cosmetics — Hair dyes — Modes of dressing the 
 hair — Otho's wig — Phcebus's expedient 97 
 
 Jl 
 
 Jr 
 
N ;v, 
 
 • 
 
 CHATTER VII. 
 
 The Orikntals. 
 
 Tho Eastern Empire — Tho Arabs— Avieenna — The invention of 
 rose-water — Oriental courtesies — Censer and CuilaMan — -Mahomet's 
 Paradise— Musky walls— Turkish baths— Scented clay used as soap— 
 gadi'a " < Julist.in " — llatiz's love of flowers — Tanjtakh and Yezdijird — 
 Turkisli Indira Tlist of Oriental ooametica ami mode of preparing 
 them — Eastern modi' of wearing the hair — Tho king of Persia's 
 barber 1'^ 
 
 V 
 
 CHATTER VIII. 
 
 THE Far East. 
 
 Perfumery us 'd in India 2000 years ago — Sakoontala — Sacred 
 flioo Ointmenta — Banna-— The live Hindu heavens — Kama, the 
 
 Indian Cupid— Religious ceremonies— Tibetan altar— O i hin-l 
 sacrifices — Hindu marriages and funerals — Origin of otto of roses — 
 Indian flowers and essences— Extracts from Indian poems relating 
 to flowers and perfumes— Hindu perfumers and barbers— I noense n 1 
 by Mussulmans— Exorcisms— Cosm. 'lies— Origin of soorma— Indian 
 mode of dressing the hair— Himalayan fashions— Chinese censers — 
 Chinese funerals — Chinese perfumers and cosmetics — Chinese ill iwers— 
 Three styles of coiffure used in China— Japanese perfumers and cos- 
 metics—Japanese funerals— Style of hair-dressing in Japan . . . .139 
 
 CHATTER IX. 
 
 Uncivii.izi.i) Nations. 
 
 Savage modes of adornment — African ointments — Tola pomatum- 
 Bridal toilet at Fernando To— African head-dresses: the cocked-hat, 
 nimbus, and shoe-brush styles— The Ounyamon.-ii— King Radama's 
 system of hair-cutting— Arab, Nubian, and Abyssinian coiffures— Tin- 
 language of oyster-shells— A begging bridegroom— A pal on the 
 head -A hath in a teacup— The enamelling process in Boodan— 
 Fashions in Central ifrioa— The Neam-Xam and Oomo peasants 
 Bine hair and red skin— The Tagall and l.oo-Choo Islander 
 Macaulay's Now Zealander— Tattooing in New Zealand— The artist's 
 song— Embalmed heads — Rainbow style of hair dyeing in Fec-jec — 
 IWdcred beaux— White rrrru* black— Nooka-hiva and Tahiti— Terra 
 del Fuego— South American Indians— Facial painting among the 
 Redskins — Indian mourning 
 
 .VJ 
 
 
 -X 
 
4* 
 
 
 iip 3 ^ 
 
 ~>£*7 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 From Ancient to Modekn Times. 
 
 Gauls and Britons — The Druids — Roman conquest — Clovis — Char- 
 lemagne — Sweet rushes — Embalming — The Crusades — Introduction 
 of rose-water — The perfumers' charter — Mediaeval times — Hungary- 
 water — The Renaissance — Venetian hair-dyes — Catherine de Medicis 
 — The secrets of Master Alexis — Queen Elizabeth — Pomanders — The 
 boat of foolish smells — Musk and civet — Casting-bottles — Perfumed 
 ground — Aromatic fumigations — Sweet bellows — Bucklersbury in 
 Shakespeare's time — Perfumery hawkers — Charles I. — The Common- 
 wealth — Charles II. — Patches — Hair-powder — Louis XIV. — The 
 Prince de Conde's snuff — Ancient recipes — Louis XV. — The Georges 
 — English perfumers of the last century — French charlatans — The 
 hair and beard — Ladies' head-dresses ISO 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Commercial Uses of Flowers and Plants. 
 
 Countries whence perfumery materials are obtained — Proposed 
 British flower-farms — Distillation, expression, maceration, and ab- 
 sorption — Semeria's new system of enflairai/e — Fiver's pneumatic 
 apparatus — Millon's percolating process — Quantities of flowers con- 
 sumed — Manufacture of perfumery — London and Paris perfumers — 
 Scents, toilet soaps, cosmetics, etc. — Glycerine — Volatilisation of per- 
 fumes — A word of advice to ladies 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Materials Used in Perfumery. 
 
 The animal series, musk, civet, aud ambergris — The floral, herbal, 
 andropogon, citrine, spicy, ligneous, radical, seminal, balmy, fruity, 
 and artificial series — New materials — East India essences — Australian 
 trees and flowers — Other aromatic products 241 
 
FRONTISPIECE— The Siior of Rem:, the Perfumer, on 
 Pont-au-Cha.nge, Pauls to face tin Till- . 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. I.— The Floral Would to fact 
 
 Initial A 
 
 a primitive pl.efume altar 
 
 Egyitian Princess 
 
 Powdered Belle of the last century 
 
 Annua Head-dress 
 
 Lf.pcha Head-dress 
 
 Fi.oiial Clock 
 
 l.iNNKrs, the Botanist 
 
 "The Young Arab" 
 
 Perfumery and Toilet Attributes (Tail-piece) 
 
 IK! i.N'TISPIECE TO CHAP. II.— An Egyptian Temple, to face 
 
 Initial L 
 
 Mi mmy Pit 
 
 Kiiamsis III. Sac BOH INcj 
 
 Ki.Yi-HAN OKU BHH8 (Tiro Illustrations) 
 
 Offerings of Ointment (Tuo Illustrations) 
 
 l'i:n sr Pouring Oil over a Mummy 
 
 Kmhu.ming Mummies (Perfuming the Body) 
 
 KMBALMnra Mi mmies (Binding the Body) 
 
 Emuai mim, Mummies (Painting the Case) 
 
 1'iMKAi. Vase 
 
 Mi mmy in a Cat 
 
 Ai.AiiASTiii Vase containing Ointment 
 
 oinimini BatXM (Four Illustrations) 
 
 OlNTMEM BOS WITH f'.'MIWEI Ml \ ]- 
 
At 
 
 
 OF ILLUSTRATION-. 
 
 A Theban Lady's Dbessisg-case 
 
 Kohl Bottles and Bodkin (Three Illustrations) 
 
 Chinese Kohol Bottle 
 
 An Egyptian Lady at her Toilet 
 
 Egyptian Mirrors (Three Illustrations) 
 
 Egyptian Mirror with Tyfhonlan Handle 
 
 Egyptlin Comii 
 
 Cleopatra on the Cydncs 
 
 Slave Anointing Guest 
 
 An Egyptian Banquet 
 
 Egyptian Barbers (Two Illustrations) 
 
 Egyptian Wig, from the Berlin Collection 
 
 Egyptian AVig in the British Museum (back and front view] 
 
 Beards (Three Illustrations) 
 
 Egyptian Ladies' Head-dresses (Tu-o Illustrations) 
 
 Egyptian Head-dress from a Mummy Case 
 
 Head-dresses (Tail-piece) 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. III.- 
 Land 
 
 -A Garden is the Holy 
 
 to face 
 
 Initial jk 
 
 The Altar of Incense 
 
 The High Priest Offering Incense 
 
 Judith Preparing to Meet Holofernes 
 
 Henna, or Camphire. with enlarged leaf and flower 
 
 Spikenard 
 
 Saffron 
 
 Frankincense 
 
 The Aloes Tree 
 
 An Eastern Marriage Procession 
 
 An Eastern Bride 
 
 Jewish Captives at Babylon 
 
 Jewish Censer (Tail-piice) 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. IV.— The Death of Sardasapalus 59 
 
 Initial T 
 
 Baal, or BklOS , 
 
 astarte. the assyrian venus , 
 
 Dagos, or the Fish-God 
 
 Altar (Khorsabad) 
 
^n 
 
 -.'- 
 
 Nimrod's Statue and Altaic 
 
 Ai.tar on a High Place 
 
 Assyrian Altak and Priests (Khorsahad) 
 
 Sassanidk Medal 
 
 Parser Altar 
 
 Assyrian Ointment Boxes (Tito Illustration*) 
 
 Assyrian Perfume Bottles, with cuneiform inscription 
 
 (Ximroud) Tito Illustrations 
 
 Babylonian Banquet 
 
 IsVlNSE-BURNINO BEFORE A KlNG ( PeUSEPOL; 
 
 Euro's Head-dress 
 
 I'VKIS' III AD-DKESS ( Pi RSEPOLIS) 
 
 A~-yeian Kar-rings (Three Illustrations) ... 
 
 BABYLONIAN I. Aims 
 
 Assyrian \Vi\(.ed Bill [TaH-fieee] 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. V.— Venus" Toilet 
 
 Initial X 
 
 Private Altar 
 
 Patera 
 
 Incense Altar 
 
 ('■reek Altar 
 
 Alabaster Scent-bottle 
 
 Public Washing Basin 
 
 Ladies' Toilet Basin 
 
 Greek Ladies at their Toilet 
 
 Bun Girl Painting 
 
 Funereal L'rns ( Tiro Illustrations) , 
 
 Mitra Head-dri.ssls (Tline Illustrations) 
 
 Sakkos Head-dress 
 
 Korymbos Head-dress ... " 
 
 Strophos Head-dresses (Three Illustrations) 
 
 Ximiio Head-dresses (Three Illustrations) 
 
 Kri.di.mnon Head-dress 
 
 Tllnlll HeaD-DRESS 
 
 111. i.iK Censer (Tail-jiiici) 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. VI.— A Roman Lady's Boudoir. 
 
 Initial R 
 
 K'lN-i Altar 
 
 T T5^-' 
 
 !^y 
 
.1ST OK ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 4 
 
 
 UAOIC Kukri; hit; DaWI I OR EXORCISM 
 
 Minim Hi; ad-dri:-s 
 
 Pocket Coxa I'sKii iiv Tiir. Mich TiiniK.s 
 
 Statue of Providence wptb Bubntno Oepjsbe 
 
 Chinese Censes at Tono-Ohoo-Foo 
 
 Private [H0SH8B lii iini.i; 
 
 (Kim -it: Maui 
 
 C hum— Hbap-dbbbs (Teapot Sttlb) 
 
 Chinese Baebeb 
 
 Japanese Ladies at their Toilet 
 
 Japanese ISi.u.i; 
 
 Japanese Head-dress 
 
 Japanese Pebfuxb Bobnbe (Tail-puce) 
 
 PBOB nsriKi'K TO CHAP, ix.— Otahitian Dancees, to face 
 
 I Ml 111. I 
 
 A Bridegroom's Toicbt at Fernando Po 
 
 lil-lllhi I mirn Head-dresses 
 
 Londa Head-dress 
 
 Ajbhxba Bbad-dbbss 
 
 Head-SBESS OP tiii; Oinyamonezi Tr ires 
 
 \kv-si\un Lady 
 
 A3TS8INIAN Ami ii r 
 
 Abyssinian Comiis 
 
 African Anointing Feather 
 
 Marquesas Hair-fin 
 
 Marqfesas Ear-rings made of Fish-hones 
 
 ('mm FROM Till Sol. mil in Islands 
 
 Tattooed Head of a Ni \v Zi vi i\n Ciur.r (Tail-piece) 
 
 FKiiMlslMKi IX TO CHAP. X.— A Strolling Vendor of 
 Perfi'mi.ry ( iimi; or I.mis XV.) tofaa 
 
 1 Nil I VI. L 
 
 A Last at her Toilet (18th centdrt) 
 
 I. Mm. s Maki.ni. Garlands 
 
 A Mi iii.EVAi. Pi in i mi.u's Shop 
 
 i. a donra i iii si h i1iiimu i cafi i.i.i 
 
 The Boat of Foolish Smells 
 
 A Ladt with Patches, of the Tims of Charles ii 
 
 Airi.MNO Hair PoWDBR in .if LOUIS XV.) 
 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Comb of the 1"th century .. 210 
 
 Madame de Pompadour at Choisy 213 
 
 German Barber (16th century) ... 216 
 
 Caricature of the Horned Head-dress 218 
 
 Various Styles of Head-dresses Last Century' — Butterfly, 
 Dove, Battery, Bride, Noble Simplicity - , Great 
 Pretensions, Jardiniere, Tuilf.ries, Frigate, Capri- 
 cious, Intercepted Looks, Union, Pilgrimage, Flower 
 Girl, Shepherdess, Porcupine, Friendship, Victory 
 
 (Eighteen Illustrations) 220-1 
 
 Modern Toilet Requisites (Tail-piece) 222 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. XI.— Interior of a Perfume 
 
 Manufactory at Nice to face 223 
 
 Initial U ib. 
 
 Steam Still 226 
 
 Oil and Pomade Frames 229 
 
 View of Grasse 230 
 
 View of Nice 231 
 
 Floral Vase (Tail-piece) 240 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO CHAP. XII.— A Flower Garden and 
 
 Distillery at Nice to face 241 
 
 Initial II jg. 
 
 Musk-Deer 242 
 
 Musk-Deer Hunting 243 
 
 Musk-Pod (Natural size) 244 
 
 Civet Cat 246 
 
 Bigarrade Leaf 250 
 
 Tuberose 251 
 
 Cassie 252 
 
 Patchouli 255 
 
 Cloves 257 
 
 Nutmeg ib. 
 
 Benzoin 258 
 
 Camphor a. 
 
 Dipterix Odorata 259 
 
 Sassafras ,/,. 
 
 Vanilla Plant 261 
 
 Flora (Tail-piece) 264 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 feat""** 
 
 &&& 
 
m 
 
 < ^ 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 Who has not felt revived and cheered by the balmy 
 fragrance of the luxuriant garden or the flowery mea- 
 dow P Who lias not experienced the delightful sensa- 
 tions caused by inhaling a fresh breeze loaded with the 
 spoils of the flowery tribe? — that "sweet south," so 
 beautifully described by Shakspeaiv as 
 
 "Breathing o'er a bank of violets, 
 Stealing and giving odour." 
 
 An indescribable emotion then invades the whole being ; 
 
 the soul becomes melted in sweet rapture, and silently 
 
 offers up the homage of its gratitude to the Creator 
 
 for the blessings showered upon us; whilst the tongue 
 
 slowly murmurs with Thomson — 
 
 " Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers, 
 In mingled clouds to Him whose sun exalts, 
 Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints!" 
 
 It is when nature awakes from her long slumbers, 
 
 and shakes off the trammels of hoary Winter, at that 
 
 delightful season which the Italian poet so charmingly 
 
 hails as the "youth of the year," 
 
 " Primavera, gioventii dell' anno ! " 
 
 that the richest perfumes fill the atmosphere. The fair 
 
 and fragile children of Spring begin to open one by one 
 
 their bright corols, and to shed around their aromatic 
 
 treasures : — 
 
 " Fair-handed Spring unbosoms every grace ; 
 Throws out the snowdrop and the crocus first; 
 The daisy, primrose, violet darkly blue, 
 And polyanthus of unnumber'd dyes ; 
 Tin yellow wallflower, stained with iron-brown. 
 And lavish stock that scents the garden round." 
 
 But soon — too soon, alts ! — those joys are doomed to 
 
 <i'1i 
 

 
 .> 
 
 IYSIO] OOl "1 PERI I Ml s. y 
 
 pass : 1 i 1< < % the maiden ripening into the matron, the 
 Bower becomes a seed, and its fragrance would for ever 
 be tost, had it not been treasured up in it-- prime by some 
 mysterious arl which gives it Fresh and lasting life. 
 
 "The rosea soon withered that hung o'er the rave, 
 Hut some blossoms wire gathered while freshly they shone, 
 And a den was distilled from their flowers th •' 
 All tin; fragrance of summer whi n Bummer was 
 
 Tims the sweei but evanescent aroma, which would 
 otherwise be scattered to the winds of heaven, assumes 
 a durable and tangible shape, and consoles us for the 
 loss of flowers when Nature dons her mourning' garb, 
 and the icy blasl howls round us. To minisf ir to these 
 wants of a refined mind — to revive the joys of ethereal 
 spring by carefully Baving its balmy treasures — con- 
 stitutes the art of the perfumer. 
 
 When 1 say "the art of the perfumer," let me ex- 
 plain this phrase, which might otherwise appear ambi- 
 tious. The first musician who tried to echo with a 
 pierced reed the Bongs of the birds of the forest, the 
 first painter who attempted to delineate on a polished 
 surface the gorgeous Bcenes which he beheld around 
 him, were both artists endeavouring to copy nature; 
 and so the perfumer, with a limited number of materials 
 at bis command, combines them like colours on a palette, 
 and strives to imitate the fr agr an ce of all flowers which 
 are rebellious to his skill, and refuse to yield op their 
 essence. Is he not, thru, entitled to claim also the 
 name of an artist, if he approaches even faintly the 
 perfections of Ins charming models? 
 
 --_. t 
 
 
 
 

 4 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 The origin of perfumery, like that of all ancient 
 
 arte, is shrouded in obscurity. .Some assert that it was 
 
 tir-t discovered in Mesopotamia, the seat of earthly 
 
 paradise, where, as Milton says, 
 
 " Gentle gales, 
 Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense 
 Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole 
 Those balmy spoils ;'* 
 
 others that it originated in Arabia, which has long 
 enjoyed, and still retains, the name of the "land of 
 perfumes." "Whatever may be the true version, it is 
 evident that when man first discovered 
 
 " "What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed," 
 
 his first idea was to offer up these fragrant treasures as 
 a holocaust to the Deity. 
 The word perfume (per, 
 through, fttmum, smoke) 
 indicates clearly that it 
 was first obtained by 
 burning aromatic gvuns 
 and woods ; and it seems 
 ae it' a mystic idea was 
 connected with this mode 
 of sacrifice, and as if men 
 fondly believed thattheir 
 prayers would sooner 
 reach the realms of their 
 gods by being wafted on 
 the blue wreaths which 
 
 slowly ascended to heaven and disappeared in the 
 
 * 
 
-> 
 
 atmosphere, whilst their intoxicating fumes threw (hem 
 into religious ecstasies. Thus we find perfumes form b 
 part of all primitive forms of worship. The altars of 
 Zoroaster and of Confucius, the temples of Memphis and 
 
 those of Jerusalem, all smoked alike with incense and 
 aweet scented woods. 
 
 Among the Greeks, perfumes were not only con- 
 sidered as a homage due to their deities, but as a sign 
 of their presence. Homer and other poets of that period 
 never mention the apparition of a goddess without 
 speaking of the ambrosial clouds which surround her. 
 Thus is Cupid's fair mother described in the "Iliad" 
 when she visits Achilles: — 
 
 "Celestial Venus hovered tfei lii- heed, 
 Ami roseate unguents heavenly fragrance shed 
 
 And in one of Euripides' tragedies, Hippolites, dying, 
 
 exclaims, " O Diana, sweet goddess, I know that thou 
 
 art near me, for I have recognised thy balmy odour." 
 
 The use of perfumes by the ancients was not long 
 
 confined to sacred rites. From the earliest times of the 
 
 Egyptian empire we find that they were adapted to 
 private uses, and gradually became an actual necessary 
 to those who laid any claim to refined taste and habits. 
 
 We may Bay thai perfumery was studied and cherished 
 
 by all the various nations which held in turn the sceptre 
 of civilization. It Mas transmitted by the Egyptians 
 
 to the .lews, then to the Assyrians, tile <i recks, the 
 
 Romans, the Arabs, and at last to the modern Euro- 
 pean nations, when they emerged from their long chaos 
 hi' barbarous turmoil, and again welcomed the aits ,,t 
 
 
 
' 
 
 ■ . -W^ 
 
 peacc. It will bo our study to trace its course through 
 these different phases ; to dive into the mysteries of the 
 toilet of the Greek beauty and the Roman matron ; to 
 describe the various ways in vrhich ladies have endea- 
 voured, at all times and in all countries, to increase and 
 preserve the charms lavished upon them by nature; and, 
 lastly, to record the progress of perfumery to the present 
 
 .7 
 
 Fgvplian Princess 
 
 Powdered Belle of the last 
 century. 
 
 period, when, having shaken off the trammels of ignor- 
 ance and quackery, it aspires to become useful no less 
 than ornamental. To render the history of the Toilet 
 more complete, we shall bestow a passing glance on the 
 sundry styles of dressing the hair at different periods, 
 
 
v t'5 
 
 -; 
 
 V 
 
 African Headdress. 
 
 PHY8I0L001 hi PERI I ICES. < 
 
 from the Egyptian princess under the Cheops dynasty 
 t.i the powdered belle of the last century. Nor Bhall 
 civilised people monopolise our 
 whole attention : in our coamings 
 
 "all round the world," we Bhall 
 find even among barbarous tribes 
 some curious fashions to register, 
 and African beauties as well as 
 
 Tartar damsels will have to reveal 
 to US the secrets of their so-called 
 
 embellishments. We shall then 
 conclude with a brief description 
 
 of the principal modes used in 
 extracting perfumes from dowers 
 
 and aromatic plants, of the chief materials to which 
 We are indebted for our aromatic treasures, and of tin 
 
 various substances which 
 
 might also be rendered 
 
 available for thai purpose. 
 Before commencing, 
 
 however, this chronolo- 
 gical narration, I may be 
 allowed t0 8aya few Words 
 
 on odours iii general. 
 
 All plants ami all 
 
 flowers exhale an odoui 
 
 more or teas pi rceptible 
 
 Lepcha Headdress. — more or leSS agreeable. 
 
 Some fiowen, like that of the orangc-t ice and the rOBB, 
 
 pOBBBBB such a powerful aroma that it -cents the air for 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES 
 
 miles around. Those who have the good fortune to travel 
 in the " genial land of Provence," when the flowers are 
 in full hloom, 
 
 "And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad 
 And the musk of the roses blown," 
 
 are saluted (as I have frequently been myself), with the 
 
 balmy breezes emanating from the floral plantations 
 of Grasse or Niec long before they reach them. Some 
 flowers have a stronger smell at sunrise, some ;it mid- 
 day, others at night. This depends hi a great measure 
 on the time they are wont to open, which varies so much 
 
 g#j£ t*$& ' 
 
among the fragrant tribe, that it lias allowed a patient 
 botanist to form a floral clock, cadi hour being indicated 
 by the opening of a particular Bower. 
 
 The accompanying illustration will give some idea of 
 lli is flora] clock. I have taken it from an old work 
 on botany, but for its accuracy I cannot vouch. It con- 
 sists of the following flowers, the hour stated tor sonic 
 
 being in the morning and for others in the evening: — 
 
 dfa 
 
 nn-ioi.ooY of rr.ui-'t mi;s. 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 Etaee. 
 
 .5 
 
 Convolvulus. 
 
 9 
 
 
 2 
 
 Beliotrope. 
 
 6 
 
 Geranium. 
 
 10 
 
 Lilac. 
 
 3 
 
 Water-lily. 
 
 7 
 
 M ignonctte. 
 
 11 
 
 Magnolia. 
 
 1 
 
 
 8 
 
 Carnation. 
 
 12 
 
 Vioii i and Pansy. 
 
 1 
 
 All odours are not alike in intensity. Some flowers 
 lose their fragrance as soon as they are culled; others, 
 on the contrary, preserve it even when dried. None, 
 however, can equal in 
 strength and durability 
 the odours derived from 
 the animal kingdom, A 
 single grain of musk will 
 retain its aroma for years, 
 and impart it to every. 
 thing with which it comee 
 in contact. 
 
 ( 'dours have been claa- 
 sitied in various ways by 
 learned men. Linnaeus, 
 the father of modern bo- 
 tanical Science, divided Unnaeua, the Botanist. 
 
 them into seven classes, three of which only were plea* 
 
 
J ( 
 
 L'HB BOOK <IK PERFUMES, 
 
 sant odours, viz., the aromatic, the fragrant, and the 
 ambrosial : but, however good his general divisions may 
 have been, this classification was far from correct, for 
 he placed carnation with lam - el leaves, and saffron with 
 jasmine, than which nothing- can be more dissimilar. 
 Fourcroy divided them into five series, and De Haller 
 into three. All these were, however, more theoretical 
 than practical, and none classified odours by their re- 
 semblance to each other. I have attempted to make a 
 new classification, comprising- only pleasant odours, by 
 adopting the principle that, as there are primary colours 
 from which all secondary shades are composed, then- 
 are also primary odours with perfect types, and that all 
 other aromas are connected more or less with them. 
 
 The types I have adopted will be found in the follow- 
 ing- table: — 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF ODOUKS. 
 
 CLASSES. 
 
 TYPES. 
 
 Ol'OlLS BELONGING TO THE SAME 
 
 
 JBose 1 
 
 \ Geranium, Sweetbriar, Rhodium, 
 
 
 lily of the Valley 
 
 Acacia, Syringa, Oranpe leaves. 
 
 Lily, Jonquil, Narcissus, Hyacinth. 
 
 
 .. Vanilla 
 
 f Balaam of Peru and Tola, Benzoin. 
 < Styrax, Tonquin Beans, Helio- 
 C trope. 
 
 ! 
 Clow 
 
 1 
 
 ... Clore 
 
 
 
 Rosemary, Patchnuly. 
 
 
 
 Berjramot.Oranpo, Cedrat, Limette 
 Spike, Thyme, Serpolet, Marjoram. 
 
 Mint 
 
 , Umond 
 
 ■ Musk 
 
 
 
 \ Badiane, Carraway, Dill, Coriander, 
 | Fennel. 
 Laurel, ''each Kernels, Mirbane. 
 
 
 
 
 Apple, Pine-apple, Quince. 
 
 T-v. 1 . 
 

 -sy 
 
 l'H\MOI.C)(.Y UK PERFl MIS. 
 
 , 
 
 I 
 
 This is the smallest number of types to which I could 
 reduce my classification, and even then there are some 
 
 particular odours, such as that of winter-green, which 
 it would be difficult to introduce into either class ; nor 
 
 docs this list comprise the .-cents which arc produced 
 by blending several classes together. 
 
 Jean Jacques Rousseau, Zimmermami, and other au- 
 thors, say that the sense of smell is the sense of imagina- 
 tion. There is no doubt that, as I have observed be- 
 fore, pleasant perfumes exercise a cheering influence on 
 the mind, and easily become associated with our remem- 
 brances. Sounds and scents share alike the property of 
 refreshing the memory, and recalling vividly before us 
 scenes of our past Hf< — an effect which Thomas .Moon- 
 beautifully illustrates in his " Lalla Kookh:" — 
 
 "The young Arab, haunted by the smell 
 Of her own mountain flowers as by a spell, 
 The sweet Elcaya, and thai courteous tree, 
 
 Which bows to all who BO k LtS rauopy, 
 Sees call'd up round her by the 
 The well, the camels, and hex father's tents; 
 Sighs far the home aha left with Sttle pain, 
 And wishes e'en its sorrows back again." 
 
 Tennyson expresses the same feeling in his "Dream 
 of fair women." 
 
 " The smell of violets, hidden in the preen, 
 1'our'd back iiit" my i mpty BOul and liana 
 
 The times when I remember to hare been 
 Joyful and free from blame." 
 
 Criton, Eippocrates, and other ancient doctors, classt d 
 perfumes among medicines, and prc-cribed them for 
 many diseases, especially those of u nervous kind. 
 
 
 
 W 
 
 ->*♦ 
 
12 
 
 THE BOOK ob' l'KKFl MES. 
 
 Pliny also attributes therapeutic properties to various 
 aromatic substances, 1 and some perfumes arc still used 
 in modern medicine. 
 
 Discarding, however, all curative pretensions for per- 
 fumes, I think it right, at the same time, to combat the 
 doctrines of certain medical men who hold that thev are 
 
 
 if' 
 
 w 
 
 %<i^^ l'-\'? 
 
 injurious to health. It can be proved, on the con- 
 trary, that their use in moderation is more beneficial 
 than otherwise; and in eases of epidemics they have 
 been known to render important service, were it 
 
 1 Pliny, in his Natural History, mentions eifrhty-four remedies derived 
 from rue, forty-one from mint, twenty-five from pennyroyal, forty-one from 
 the iris, thirty-two from the rose, twenty-one from the lily, sever*, on from 
 the violet, etc. (Pliny's Nat. Hist. b. xx. and xxi.) 
 
 '.— - 
 
 % 
 

 
 PHYSIOLOG1 OF PEHF1 MES. 
 
 [3 
 
 : 
 
 
 only Id tlie four thieves who, by means of their 
 famous aromatio vinegar, 1 were enabled to rob half 
 the population of Marseilles at the time of the greaf 
 plague. 
 
 It is true that flowers, if III in a slei pin^-apartment 
 
 all night, will Bometimes cause headache and sickness, 
 
 but this proceeds not from the diffusion of their aroma, 
 hut from the carbonic acid they evolve during the night. 
 
 If a perfume extracted from these flowers were left 
 open in the same circumstances, no evil effect would 
 
 arise from it. All that can he said is that sonic deli- 
 cate people may he affected by certain odours; hut the 
 same person to whom a musky scent would give a 
 headache might derive much relief from a perfume 
 with a citrine basis. Imagination has, besides, a great 
 
 deal to do with the supposed UOXIOUS effects of perfumes. 
 Dr. Cloquet, who may he deemed an authority on this 
 subject, of which lie nude a special study, says in 
 his able Treatise on Olfaction : — "We must not forget 
 that then' are many effeminate men and women to he 
 found in the world who imagine that perfumes an' in- 
 jurious to them, hut their example cannot he adduced 
 as a proof of the had effect of odouiS. Thus Dr. Thomas 
 
 CapeUini relates the story of a lady who fancied she 
 
 could not bear the smell of a rose, and fainted on 
 
 1 It i> related thai during il"' great plague which visited Mar-, ill'- f.mr 
 robben, who bad become associated, invented an am 
 
 which tin- y could rah the dead ami the dying, without any (eat 
 of infection. Tbia rinegai wai long known in Prance under the nam.' of 
 
 desquatre Voleura," ami gave tin- iir>t idea of Ti.il. t Yin. .-ar. 
 
I32h:\ 
 
 
 THE BOOK OF PEKFtMES. 
 
 receiving the visit of a friend who carried one, and vet 
 the fatal flower was only Artificial." ' 
 
 "Were any other argument wanting to vindicate per- 
 fumes from the aspersions cast upon them, I would say 
 that we are prompted by a natural instinct to seek and 
 enjoy pleasant odours, and to avoid and reject un- 
 pleasant ones, and it is unreasonable and unjust to 
 suppose that Providence has endowed us with this dis- 
 cerning power, to mislead us into a pleasure fraught 
 with danger, or even discomfort. 
 
 1 Osphn'sinlngie, ou Trciite <le ('Olfaction, par lu Dr. II. Cloquet, chap. 
 v. p. 80. 
 
Tin 1 barge she sat in. like ■ burnished throne, 
 Hunit on the water; the poop wis beaten gold, 
 
 Purple the sails, and so perfumed that 
 1 lit' winds were love siek .... 
 
 Antony ani> Clkopat&I. 
 
 OXG be- 
 fore any 
 other na- 
 tion, E- 
 gypt had 
 learned, 
 or rather 
 invented, 
 
 J*t^3S5*^ llie art (it 
 
 raising 
 lofty temples to its gods, magnifi- 
 cent palaces to its princes, and im- 
 mense cities for its people, and of 
 decorating them with all the va- 
 rious treasures which nature had 
 placed at its disposal Whilst the 
 Jews and other surrounding people were confined to the 
 simplicities of pastoral life, the Egyptians were enjoying 
 the luxuries of refinement, and carried them to an extent 
 which was not surpassed, it' equalled, by those w ho, after 
 them, successively held the sceptre of civilization. 
 Although the Egyptians left no trai f their Litera- 
 
 ' 
 
 
 «nnZ=*Q , 
 
 
^3sa,> iMM^UdS. 
 
 1ZS* 
 
 THE ill w IK OF PEHFTJMES. 
 
 ture, the ample descriptions given by the Greek and 
 
 Latin authors, the frequent mention made in the Bible, 
 
 and, above all, the numerous paintings and sculptures 
 
 found on their monuments and in their tombs, give 
 
 us a complete insight into their manners and mode 
 
 of life. The huge piles of granite which they reared 
 
 over the last asylum of their monarchs, in the vain 
 
 hope of securing their eternal peace, and of screening 
 
 them from the profane gaze of intruders, were not proof 
 
 against the cupidity of the fellahs of modern Egypt, who 
 
 found their way into the abodes of the dead in search of 
 
 the treasures buried with them. This unholy spoliation 
 
 was not, however, entirely barren of happy results, 
 
 " For nought so vile on the earth doth live 
 But to the earth some special good doth give." 
 
 In tliis instance the inroads made by the avaricious 
 plunderers into the ruined pa- 
 laces and mummy pits paved 
 the way for equally daring but 
 more disinterested explorers, 
 and enabled scientific men 
 like Sonnini, Belzoni, Savarv, 
 Champollion, Sir Gardener 
 Wilkinson, Mariette, and 
 others, to dive into the mys- 
 teries of ancient Egyptian 
 customs, and to give us a correct and vivid account 
 of what the world was long before the era of written 
 history. We learn from these descriptive illustra- 
 tions, confirmed by the records of ancient writers and 
 
 lummy Tit. 
 
 v; ; 
 
 3=. 
 

 
 
 n 
 
 -•-:_ 
 
 1111. EGYPTIANS 
 
 by the numorous implements found intact in the tombs, 
 that perfbmea were extensively consumed in Egypt, and 
 applied to three distinct ptuposes— ofGarings to the gods, 
 embalming the dead, and usee in private life. 
 
 At all the festivals held by the Egyptians in honour 
 of their numerous deities, perfumes played a conspicuous 
 part, and they also ranked among the most grateful of 
 their daily el.Iat ions. With the tunes gratitude of a 
 primitive people, they felt it a sort of duty to offer the 
 finest fruit, the fairest flower, the richest wine, the 
 tiit te-t bullock, to the 
 gods, who Were Sup- 
 posed to havedisp as- 
 
 id those 1 ns ; but 
 
 of all other sacrifices 
 thatof incense appear- 
 ed totheni the niostre- 
 fined and appropriate. 
 In the temples of Kis, 
 the good "goddess ;" 
 of Osiris, the eternal 
 rival of Typhon ; of 
 
 Paaht, ortheEgyptian 
 Diana; aromatic gums 
 
 and woods were con- 
 stantly burned by the 
 priests, and on grand r 
 state occasions the 
 
 1 • _Vi ie re ■ .. i Rhamaea III. Sacrificing. 
 
 Kingnimself officiated, 
 
 holding a censer in one hand, and in the other a small 
 
<s$ 
 
 m 
 
 vase with a spout containing'wine or perfumed oil for 
 libations to be poured on the altar. The engraving on 
 the preceding page, which represents Rhamses III., 
 illustrates this mode of sacrifice. 
 
 In ordinary ceremonies incense alone was offered, hi 
 the .shape of round balls or pastilles, which were thrown 
 into the censers. Those censers were not swung about, 
 as are those used in Catholic churches : they were 
 straight, and held firmly in the right hand, whilst the 
 incense was thrown in with the left, an operation which 
 must have required some little practice, if performed as 
 adroitly as the Egyptian painters woidd lead us to 
 believe. 
 
 m^=^* 
 
 Igyptian • Censera. 
 
 At Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, where the great 
 orb was adored under the name of Re, they burned 
 incense to him three times a day — resin at his first 
 rising, myrrh when in the meridian, and a mixture of 
 sixteen ingredients, called Kuphi, at his setting. 
 
 The sacred bull, Apis, had also his share of such 
 homage. Those who wished to consult him burnt in- 
 cense on his altar, filled the lamps which were lighted 
 there with fragrant oils, and deposited a piece of money 
 before the statue of the god. They then whispered 
 softly to him the question they wished to ask, and 
 issued from the temple carefully stopping their ears. 
 
 Si 
 
 1 
 
 \*\ 
 
W*' u 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 Cffenngs of Ointment. 
 
 THE EGYPTIANS. 
 
 The first word that was uttered by any one tliey clianced 
 to meet ai'ter that, was taken by them to convey the 
 reply which they sought. 
 
 lit sides incense, ointment was also offered to the gods, 
 and formed an indispensable pari of what was considered 
 a complete oblation. It was 
 placed before the deity in 
 vases of alabaster or other 
 costly material, on which 
 was frequently engraved 
 the name of the god to 
 whom it was offered. Some- 
 times the king or the priest took out a certain portion, 
 and anointed the statue of the divinity with his little 
 finger. 
 
 At the fete of Isis, which was performed with great 
 magnificence, they sacrificed an ox filled with myrrh, 
 frankincense, and other aromatic substances, which fchey 
 burnt, pouring a quantity of oil over it during the pro- 
 cess. The fragrant vapours thus produced counteracted 
 the smell of the burning flesh, which would otherwise 
 have been unbearable, even to the most ardent votaries 
 of the goddess. 
 
 The two principal festivals in honour of Osiris were 
 held at six months' distance from each other. The first 
 was meant to commemorate the loss, and the second 
 the finding, of Egypt's tutelar god. At the latter the 
 priests carried the sacred chest, inclosing a small 
 vessel nt' gold, into which they poured some water, and 
 all the people assembled cried out, "Osiris is found!" 
 
 rf*U*r 
 
 J*. 
 

 m^Mm^-^s^ 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 They then threw into the water some fresh mould, to- 
 gether with rich odours and spices, and shaped it into 
 a little image resembling a crescent, which was supposed 
 to typify the essence and power of earth and water. 
 
 It was, however, in their grand religious processions 
 that they made the most luxurious display of perfumes. 
 In one of those described as having taken place under 
 one of the Ptolemies, marched one hundred and twenty 
 children, bearing incense, myrrh, and saffron in golden 
 basins, followed by a number of camels, some earning 
 three hundred pounds weight of frankincense, and 
 others a similar quantity of crocus, cassia, cinnamon, 
 orris, and other precious aromatics. 
 
 No king coidd be crowned without being anointed : 
 this was done privately by the priests, who pretended 
 that the ceremony had been performed by a god, in 
 Drder to convey to the people a more exalted notion 
 of the benefits conferred on their monarehs. The 
 latter also shared with the deities the privilege of 
 being offered incense : but this only on special occa- 
 sions, such as their return from a victorious campaign. 
 The king then entered the capital, borne in his chair 
 of state, and accompanied by a brilliant cortege. A 
 long procession of priests came to meet him, dressed 
 in gorgeous robes, and holding censers full of incense, 
 whilst a sacred scribe read from a papyrus roll the glo- 
 rious deeds of the victorious sovereign. 
 
 The Egyptians believed in the transmigration of souls 
 — a doctrine afterwards adopted by Pythagoras and other 
 Grecian philosophers. They held that, after leaving the 
 
 
 
 ^Ar 
 
 V 
 
s>V\ i& 
 
 THE EG! I'll \Ns. O] 
 
 body of a man, his soul entered thai of .some other ani- 
 mal, and, having successively passed through all crea- 
 tures of the earth, water, and air, it again assumed the 
 human shape, which journey was accomplished in the 
 
 lapse of three thousand years. This belief would ac- 
 count for the very great care they took m embalming 
 the bodies of their dead, so that, after having concluded 
 their long journey, the souls might find their original 
 envelopes in a tolerable state of preservation. Diodorus, 
 however, assigns another reason for this custom, and 
 says the wealthy Egyptians kept the bodies of their 
 ancestors in magnificent rooms set apart for that pur- 
 pose, in order to have the gratification of contemplating 
 
 the features of those who had died many generations 
 before them, for the whole appearance of the person was 
 so well preserved that it could be easily recognised. 
 
 Several times during the year 
 these mummies were brought 
 out and received the greatest 
 honors. Incense and libations 
 were offered to them, and 
 sweetly scented oil was poured 
 over their heads and carefully 
 
 wiped oil' with a towel carried 
 
 on the shoulder for the pur- Prlest r ,0Uriu s 0i i° v eraWummy. 
 
 pose. A priest was generally called in to officiate on 
 
 these occasions. 
 
 The operation of embalming was performed in the 
 following manner by the ancient Egyptians, according 
 
 to Herodotus: — They first extracted the brains through 
 
 
 r C ~&k -->* ASS ■ • 
 
^^^^A^&^A 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 &£ 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 the nostrils by means of a curved iron probe, and filled 
 the head with drugs ; then, making an incision in the 
 side with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they drew out the 
 intestines, and inserted into the cavity powdered myrrh, 
 
 Embalming Mummies (Perfuming the Body). 
 
 cassia, and other perfumes, frankincense excepted. After 
 sewing up the body they kept it in natron 1 for 
 seventy days, and then wrapped it up entirely with 
 bands of fine linen, smeared with gum, and laid it in a 
 
 wooden case, 
 made in the 
 shape of a man, 
 which they 
 placed upright 
 against the 
 wall. 
 
 This was the 
 first class, or 
 
 Embalming Mummies (Binding the Body) 
 
 "Osiris style," of embalming; but, being very expen- 
 sive, it was confined to the richest people. Another 
 
 A native sesquicarbonate of soda found in great quantities in Egypt. 
 

 THB EG! I'll INS. 
 
 
 mode consisted in injecting oil of cedar into the body, 
 without removing the intestines; whilst, in the case 
 of the poorer class of people, the body was merel] 
 cleansed with ByrmoBa and salt, subjecting it, in both 
 cases, to a natron bath, which completely dried the 
 tlesli. The tirst kind of embalming COSl a talent, 01 
 
 about £250, the second twenty-two minse, ox £60, and 
 the third was extremely cheap. These operations were 
 
 ues (Punting I 
 
 performed by some persons regularly appointed for the 
 purpose, and at Thebes there was a whole quarter of the 
 
 town devoted to the preparation of the necessary imple- 
 ments. <'ne of the most curious parts of the perfor- 
 mance was that the partuckuteB, or dissector, who had 
 to make an incision in the body, ran away as soon as 
 it was done, amid the bitter execrations of all those 
 present, who pelted him unmercifully with stones, to 
 testily their abhorrence of any one inflicting injury on 
 a human creature, either alive or dead. 
 In some of the mummies the viscera "ere returned 
 
 into the body, after being dean-ed with palm wine and 
 mixed with pounded aromatics ; but for persons of di- 
 
 
 
 . ■ ' - 
 

 j 
 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 tinction they placed the internal parts in four sepulchral 
 vases, dedicated to different deities. The first jar, sur- 
 mounted with a human head, was consecrated to Am- 
 Set, a genius presiding over the South, and contained 
 the large intestines ; the second rase, covered with a 
 tynocephalus, held the smaller viscera, and was dedicated 
 toHa-Pi, the genius of the North: the third, represented 
 here, received the heart and lungs, 
 and was decorated with a jackal's 
 head, in honour of Traut-mutf, the 
 genius of the East ; and in the 
 fourth, ornamented with a hawk's 
 head, were deposited the liver and 
 gall-bladder, under the protection 
 of Krebsnif, the genius of the 
 West, who was, as well as the 
 three others, a son of Osiris. All 
 these vases were filled with per- 
 fumes, to insure the preservation 
 of their contents. 
 Embalming was not confined to the human species. 
 Some animals, and principally those held sacred by the 
 I ; tians, equally shared this privilege. When the 
 divine bull, Apis, had completed the twenty- five years 
 which were allotted to him as the extent of his natural 
 life, the priests drowned him in the Nile, embalmed 
 him, and buried him with great solemnity. Cats 
 and other animals were also embalmed, and there are 
 numerous specimens of their mummies in the British 
 Museum. 
 
 - '• Ik k 
 
 
 -r= 
 

 nil EGYPTIANS. 
 
 In some barren parts of Egypt, where Band was 
 more plentiful than aromatics, they preserved their 
 dead by exposing them for Borne time on the ground 
 in the burning rays of the sun, which 
 completely desiccated the body. Son- 
 niiii describes, in his travels, a some- 
 what similar process carried on at a 
 Capuchins' convent in the neighbour- 
 hood of Palermo, by means of which 
 the bodies of all the community have 
 been kept since its foundation by 
 broiling them over a slow fire, forming, 
 B8 he says, a most ghastly collection. 
 
 Among many customs derived by 
 modern Egyptians from their ancestors 
 
 is that of embalming, which is still Mun.my cf a Cat. 
 observed among wealthy people, and which, according 
 to Maillet, is performed in the following manner: they 
 wash the body several times with rose-water, perfume it 
 with incense, aloes, and a variety of spices, wrap it up 
 in a sheet moistened with liquid odours, and bury it 
 with the richest suit of clothes belonging to the de- 
 Ceased. 
 
 Great as was the consumption of perfumes in Egypt 
 for religious rites and funeral honours, ii was scarcely 
 equal to the quantity of aromatics used for toilet pur- 
 poses. The Egyptians were very cleanly in their 
 habits, and were the inventors of that complete sysfe m 
 of baths which the Greeks and Romans borrowed from 
 them, and which has remained in use among modern 
 
 
 
 ■'~-m&^, 
 
vv> aeiK 
 
 
 THE HOOK OF PERFIMKS. 
 
 Eastern nations. Alter the copious ablutions in which 
 they indulged, they rubbed themselves all over with 
 fragrant oils and ointments. This practice may appear 
 repulsive to English readers, but it was, no doubt, re- 
 quired by the climate to give elasticity to the skin and 
 counteract the effects of the sun. It is still generally 
 kept up in Africa and other hot countries. The un- 
 guents used were of great variety, and were at first 
 dispensed by the priests, who were then alone 
 acquainted with the mysteries of the compounding art, 
 and may be termed the first manufacturing perfumers. 
 Some were flavoured with origanum, bitter almond, 
 or other aromatics indigenous to the Egyptian soil; 
 but the greater part of their ingredients, such as 
 myrrh, frankincense, etc., came from Arabia. They 
 were kept in bottles, vases, or pots, 
 made of alabaster, onyx, glass, por- 
 phyry, or other hard substances ; 
 and also in boxes made of carved 
 wood or ivory, which assumed some- 
 times the most curious shapes, such 
 as that of fishes, birds, etc. Some 
 of these boxes were divided into 
 compartments, like the specimen 
 
 Alabaster Vase containing 
 
 o.—ment. represented on the next page, which 
 
 probably held different cosmetics for the toilet. The 
 preparation of those ointments was so perfect that a 
 specimen in the Alnwick Castle musemn has retained 
 its scent after a lapse of three or four thousand years. 
 They were generally very expensive, and the poorer 
 
 SK 
 
annexed toilet-case, containing a goodly 
 array of jars and bottles, supposed 
 to have belonged to a Theban lady. 
 Besides scented oils and unguents, 
 they used red and white paint for 
 their faces, and a black powder 
 called kohl, or kohol, made of anti- 
 mony, which, applied with a wooden 
 or ivory bodkin to the pupils of the 
 eyes, increased their brilliancy and made them appear 
 
 it 
 
 Kohl Bottles and Bodkin. 
 
 larger — a custom still prevalent throughout the East. 
 
 This kohol was held in vases of a curious 
 
 shape of which quantities have been found 
 
 in the tombs. One of those represented here 
 
 is evidently of Chinese origin, which leads 
 
 some people to suppose that the intercourse 
 
 between Egypt and tbe Celestial Empire 
 
 commenced at a very early date. This is, 
 
 however, a vexed question, on which many 
 
 large folios have been written, and I shall, KohoT'bottie. 
 
 therefore, abstain, with wholesome dread, from offering 
 
 PrJc- 
 
V 
 
 I 
 
 llll I i.M'l 1 \\\ 
 
 an opinion on such a controverted subject. I must not 
 omit from the list of artifices employed by Egyptian 
 belles, thai of staining their fingers and the palms of 
 their hands with the leaves of the henna (Ltncsoiiia i>ur- 
 mis), a practice which is supposed by some to have given 
 rise to the Greek metaphor of "rosy-fingered Aurora." 
 The accompanying outline, taken from a painting at 
 Thebes, represents an Egyptian lady at her toilet, and 
 
 At; Fgyptian Lady at her Toilet. 
 
 may convey an idea of the manner in which this im- 
 portant duty was performed. One of her attendants 
 is pouring water over her, another ruhs her with 
 her hand, a third gives her to inhale the flower of 
 the lotus, whilst the fourth is preparing to replace her 
 ornaments. 
 
 Among the numerous toilet implements found in 
 Egyptian tomhs, the most conspicuous are mint 
 combs. The former were made of copper mixed with 
 Other metals, and their workmanship and polish were 
 so excellent that some of them which have been revived 
 after lying buried for many centuries equal almost in 
 
 
 £i~. 
 
 
;r, 
 
 
 . ■ . _ \r >i 
 
 j in: an i'ii uts. 
 
 31 
 
 v^ 
 
 Egyptian combs were generally made of* wood; some 
 plain, and others carved. The annexed specimen is not 
 unlike our modern small-tooth comb in shape. 
 
 The taste lor perfumes and cosmetics went on increas- 
 ing in Egypt until the time of Cleopatra, when it may 
 be said to have reached its climax. This luxurious 
 queen made a lavish use of aromatics, and it was one of 
 
 Cleopatra on the Cydnus. 
 
 the means of seduction she hroughl into play at her 
 first interview with Mark Antony on the banks of the 
 Cydnus, which is so beautifully described by Shaks- 
 peare. Glowing as the picture may seem, it is in no 
 way overdrawn, and has been copied by our gn 
 
 A 
 
 -3TT- 
 
 • 
 
 i 
 
 *i 
 
 
 - 
 
THE BOOK OF PF.KFl.MtS. 
 
 a ; 
 
 almost word for word, from Plutarch's original recital, 
 to which he only added the charm of his verse. 
 
 At all private festivals 
 perfumes were in great re- 
 quest. The first duty of 
 the attendant slaves on 
 the arrival of the visitors 
 was to anoint their heads, 
 or, rather, their wigs, for 
 they wore all shaven and 
 wore this artificial cover- 
 ing, which served the pur- 
 pose of modern turbans — 
 to protect them against 
 the rays of a scorching sun. During the entertain- 
 ment, fresh flowers were used in great profusion : 
 chaplets of lotus decorated the necks of the guests, 
 garlands of crocus and saffron encircled the wine-cup, 
 floral wreaths were hung all round the room, and 
 over and under the tables were strewn various flowers 
 mingling their fragrance with the fumes of numerous 
 cassolettes, whilst, to leave no sense ungratitied, musi- 
 cians charmed the ear with the sweetest melodies. It 
 was thus that Agesilaus was received when he visited 
 Egypt ; hut the rude Spartan, unaccustomed to such 
 luxuries, refused the sweetmeats, confections, and per- 
 fumes, for which act of barbarism the polished na- 
 tives held him in great contempt, as a man incapable 
 and unworthy of enjoying the refinements of good 
 societv. 
 
 
nil. BOTPTLUI8. 33 
 
 Herodotus relates a very curious custom which was 
 observed al these Egyptian festivals. When (he revel 
 was at its height, a man entered, bearing the wooden 
 
 image of a dea 1 body, perfectly carved and painted, and 
 cried aloud, " Look at this, drink and make merry, for so 
 vim will be after your death." ( >ur modern " sensation " 
 
 dramatists could oo1 wish for a better contrast, and I 
 do not sec, after all, why this strange habil should be 
 more wondered at than the ftmtir with which they 
 
 have aoughl lately to introduce ghosts into our public 
 and private entertainments. , 
 
 kt 
 
 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 The Egyptians, as I said before, shaved their heads 
 and chins, and looked with abhorrence on the rough- 
 
 Fgyptiau Barbers. 
 
 haired and long-bearded Asiatic nations. They only 
 allowed their hair and beard to grow when in mourn- 
 ing, and looked upon it in any 
 other circumstance as a sign of 
 low and slovenly habits. Most of 
 them wore over their shaven polls 
 wigs made of curled hair, with a 
 series of plaits at the back, like 
 the annexed specimens, one of 
 which is taken from the British 
 Museum, and the other from the 
 Berlin collection of antiquities. 
 Poor people, who could not afford 
 the expense of real hair, had 
 theirs made of black sheep's wool. 
 By B singular contradiction, the 
 great people wore artificial beards. 
 which they likewise affixed to the 
 

*&-*£* 
 
 
 36 
 
 11IL BOOK OF PEKKl MKS. 
 
 the remainder descended on each side of the face, covering 
 the cars completely. They generally had an ornamental 
 fillet round the head, with a 
 lotus bud in front by 'way of a 
 fcrroniere. Some of the crime 
 £me indulged in a head- 
 dn sa representing a peacock, 
 whose gorgeous plumage set 
 off their dark tresses : and 
 princesses were usually dis- 
 tinguished by a coiffure of 
 extraordinary dimensions, com- 
 of the animal, vegetable, and 
 
 Mummy case. 
 
 billing all the riches 
 mineral kingdoms. 
 
 Modem Egypt has preserved many of the customs of 
 its former inhabitants, on which I shall further descant 
 when treating of the '•Orientals." At present I shall 
 proceed in due chronological order, and devote mv next 
 chapter to the Jews. 
 
 1 
 
 £ 
 

Mm 
 
 i iiim o n 
 
 I In- -li WB 
 
 are mi- 
 
 ■puj. llnlllltl'illy 
 
 '** i,w" ■-" -2^91 t ' ie """■ , 
 
 ancient 
 people ex- 
 tant, and 
 the IIi.lv 
 Scriptures 
 t'u r n i >h 
 us with 
 abundanl 
 details re- 
 specting 
 then since the com- 
 mencement cit' the 
 world, 1 have given them 
 the second place in my history of Perfumes, because 
 those luxuries do not appear to have come into general 
 use among them until their return from Egypt. During 
 their long captivity in thai highly civilised country, 
 they became initiated in all the refinements of their 
 masters, being gradually transformed from a simple. 
 
 
 
 
%k2 
 
 m 
 
 pastoral people to a polished, industrious nation ; and 
 among the many arts which they brought back with 
 them into their own country was that of perfumery. 
 
 Long before that time, however, they had probably 
 discovered the aromatic properties of some of their 
 native gums, and, prompted by that natural instinct to 
 which I have already alluded, they had offered those 
 fragrant treasures on the altars raised, to their God. 
 Thus we findXoah, on issuing from the ark, expressing 
 his gratitude to the Almighty for his wonderful preserva- 
 tion by a sacrifice of burnt offerings, composed of "every 
 clean beast and every clean fowl. - ' 1 It is true that 
 Genesis does not mention incense as having formed part 
 of the holocaust, but the very words that follow, " And 
 the Lord smelled a sweet savour," may lead us to as- 
 sume that such was the case. 
 
 The mountains of Gilead, a ridge running from 
 Mount Lebanon southward, on the east of the Holy 
 Land, were covered with fragrant shrubs. The most 
 plentiful among them was the amyris, which yields a 
 gum known under the name of " balm of Gilead." 
 Strabo also speaks of a field near Jericho, in Palestine, 
 which was full of these balsam-trees. This gum seems 
 to have formed an article of commerce at a very early 
 period, for the Ishmaelitc merchants to whom Joseph 
 was sold by his brethren " came from Gilead with their 
 camels, bearing spiccry, and balm, and myrrh, going to 
 carry it down to Egypt." * 
 
 Among the many commands which Moses received 
 1 Genesis viii. 20. : Genesis xxxvii. 25. 
 
 ml 
 
 V Js> 
 

 :) from the Lord on his return from die land of captivity, 
 were those of erecting the altar of incense, and com- 
 pounding the holy oil ami perfume: — 
 
 ••And lima shalt make an altar to born incense npon: 
 
 ol'sliittim wood shalt thou make it." 
 
 " And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top 
 
 thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns 
 thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a erown of gold 
 round about." ' 
 
 In the same chapter we find the directions far making 
 the lmlv anointing oil : — 
 
 "Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure 
 
 1 Exodoa m. 1 '•'<■ 
 
 m^ 
 
 
 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half 
 so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of 
 sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels. And of 
 cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanc- 
 tuary, and of olivo oil an hin. 
 
 " And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an 
 ointment compound after tho art of the apothecary (or 
 perfumer) : it shall be a holy anointing oil." ' 
 
 This oil served to anoint tho tabernacle, the ark of 
 the testimony, the altar of burnt offerings, the altar of 
 incense, tho candlesticks, and all tho sacred vessels. It 
 was also used to consecrate Aaron and his sons, con- 
 ferring upon them perpetual priesthood from generation 
 to generation. The ceremony was confined to the high 
 priest, and was performed by pouring oil on the head in 
 sufficient quantity to run down on the beard and the 
 skirt:! of tho garments.'- There is a controversy as to 
 when this practice was discontinued — some of the rabbis 
 pretending that it was given up about fifty years before 
 the destruction of the temple; whileEusebius is of opinion 
 that it remained in use until our Saviour's time. 3 
 
 Jewish kings were also anointed, but opinions differ 
 very much as to whether it was done with the holy oil 
 or common oil. Talmudic writers maintain that it was 
 the peculiar privilege of the kings of the family of 
 David to be anointed with the same holy oil which was 
 used in the consecration of the high priest ; but this 
 can scarcely agree with the directions contained 
 
 Psalm CXXXlii, 2 
 

 m 
 
 
 THB jkws. 
 
 Exodus, 1>v which the use of the holy ointment is con- 
 fined to Aaron and his generation, to the exclusion of 
 every other person.' 
 
 Although the ingredients of this oil are given to US, 
 we are no! told how it was prepared; and it Beems diffi- 
 cult to understand how so many solid substances could 
 be introduced into an hin of oil (which, according to 
 Bishop Cumberland, is only a little more than a gallon) 
 without destroying its liquidity. Maimonides pretends 
 to explain this liy saying that the four spices were 
 pounded separately, then mixed together, and a strong 
 decoction of them made with water, which, being Btrained 
 from the ingredients, was boiled up with the nil till all 
 
 the water hail evaporated. 1 
 
 The instructions given to Moses fur compounding the 
 holy incense were as follow: — 
 
 "Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and 
 galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense; of 
 each shall there be a like weight : and thou shalt make 
 ii a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary 
 (or perfumer), tempered together pure and holy." 3 
 
 The word perfumer occurs in some of the translations 
 instead of that of apothecary, which is easily accounted 
 for by the fact that in those times both callings were 
 combined in one. 
 
 There is a great difference of opinion among scrip- 
 tural commentators as to the true nature of stacte, 
 onycha, and gallianum. 
 
 ' Bxodoa \1. II 16, : Ps Aj>|ur.itu Ti'in[ili. an. i I 
 
 3 Exodus xxi. 34, 35. 
 
 1 
 
fcM 
 
 IHL liOGK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 Stacte, in Hebrew 5\£3 (flflApi), means dropping; 
 
 and the Greek translation. ~Tax-rq stak:i . has the same 
 signification, hence it was thought by some to be storax 
 and by others opobalsamum. Gesenius simply calls it 
 a fragrant gum ; but Professor Lee maintains it was 
 myrrh, and he is probably correct. Rosenmuller, how- 
 ever, says that arajcrr) is derived from a~ra±eiv, to distil, 
 and that it was a distillate from myrrh and cinnamon. 
 The word stacte also occurs in Latin authors, but their 
 definitions do not agree ; Pliny saying it is the natural 
 exudation of the myrrh tree before it is cut, whilst 
 Dioscorides pretends it is an unguent made of mvrrh 
 pounded in a little water and mixed with origanum. 
 
 There is still a greater controversy respecting onvcha. 
 Geddes and Boothroyd assimilate it to bdellium, 1 and 
 Bocharrus brings forth many arguments to prove it to 
 have been labdanum. 2 one of the principal aromatics used 
 by the Arabians. Maimonides states it was the hoof or 
 claw of an animal, and Jarchi the root of a plant. The 
 ■ 4 _-■ neral version, however, is that it was the shell of 
 a fish found in the marshes of India, and that it derived 
 it s fra grance from the spikenard, upon which it fed. This 
 fish was also found in the Pied Sea. whence the Jews pro- 
 bably obtained it ; and its white and transparent shell 
 resembled a man's nail, which accounts for its name.* 
 
 Galbanum. in Hebrew rOl^TI . means 
 
 unctuous, and was evidently a balsam. Bishop Patrick 
 
 1 Gum-rosin produced bv the bahamodendron i 
 
 2 Gum of tile cittut crctiats. 
 
 3 6vi>{ {oiiyi) in Greek means a h niw • 
 
 
^ 
 
 Sjs 
 
 
 ¥ 
 
 43 
 
 says it must not be confounded with 1 lie common 
 galbanum used in medicine, which lias anything but 
 an agreeable smell, bul thai it tree a superior Borl found 
 in Syria, mi .Mount Ainniius. 
 
 The word tempered has also been discussed, some pre- 
 tending thai it meant tailed. Maimonides says thai the 
 incense was always mixed with Bait of Sodom; but 
 Bishop Horslcy thinks that tempered in tin's ease signi- 
 fies dissolved. 
 
 Bczaleel and 
 Aholiab, who were 
 expert "in all man- 
 ner of workman* 
 shiji," were in- 
 trnsted with the 
 task of preparing 
 the holy oil and 
 
 incense, and it was 
 
 strictly forbidden 
 to use them for any 
 other bul aacn 'i 
 purposes. 
 
 " Whosoever 
 shall make like 
 unto that, to smell 
 thereto, shall even 
 
 be cut off from his 
 people." ' 
 
 li was likewise the exclusiTi pn rogative of priests t . 
 1 Exodus xix 38. 
 
 The High Pnest offering Incense. 
 
 , ■ 
 
 r 
 
 w 
 
 v 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 

 offer up incense in the temple : and for having violated 
 this law, and disregarded the threats of Moses and 
 Aaron, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with two hundred 
 and fifty princes of the assembly, were swallowed up 
 by the earth, with their families and their goods. 1 V 
 
 At a later period, King TTzziah was likewise repri- 
 manded by Azariah and eighty other priests for attempt- 
 ing to burn incense in the temple ; and having persisted 
 in his design, he was struck with leprosy on the spot. 2 
 
 The very severe penalties decreed by Moses against 
 any persons attempting to use the holy oil and incense 
 for private purposes, or even to compound similar pre- 
 parations, give a very evident proof that the Jews had 
 brought from Egypt with them the habit of employing 
 perfumes, otherwise such prohibitions would have been 
 unnecessary. ;j 
 
 TTith these they had also imported the cleanly habits 
 of the Egyptians, and that complete system of baths 
 which gave, as it were, new life to the frame, and which 
 naturally led them to the use of sweet unctions. 
 
 The purifications of women, as ordained by law, also 
 caused a great consumption of aromatics. They lasted 
 a whole year, the first six months being accomplished 
 with oil of niyrrh, and the rest with other sweet odours. 
 This was the ordeal Esther had to undergo before she was 
 presented to king Ahasuerus, and " she obtained grace 
 and favour in his sight more than all the virgins."' 3 
 
 Perfumes were also one of the means of seduction Hi'"> 35 
 
 resorted to by Judith when she went forth to seek 
 
 1 Numbers xvi. 32-35. ■ 2 Caron. xxri. 16-19. 3 Esther ii. 12, 17. 
 

 p?2^ 
 
 THE Jl.ws. 4;, 
 
 Holofernea in hia tent, and liberate her people from 
 his oppn ssion. 
 "She pulled oft' the sackcloth which die had on, and 
 
 put oft' t hi- garments of her widowh 1, and washed her 
 
 body all owr with water, and anointed herself with 
 precious ointment, and braided the hair of her head 
 and put a tire upon it, and put on her garment of 
 
 TC 5 ^ 
 
 Judith Trepann* to meet Holofernes. 
 
 gladness, wherewith she was clad during the life of 
 Manassas her husband." 
 
 " And she took sandals upon her feet, and pul about 
 her bracelets, and her chains and her rings, and her 
 ear-rings and all her ornaments, and decked herself 
 bravely, to allure the eyes of all men thai should see 
 her." 1 
 
 1 Jmlitli \ 
 
 X 
 
 n 
 
 ^tr-''. 
 
 il 
 
 K ' 
 
 « "'UAt„ « -J , 
 

 16 
 
 THE HOOK OK PERITMES. 
 
 6> 
 
 * 
 
 Perfumes were then very costly, and the Jews held 
 them in such high esteem that they formed part of the 
 presents made to sovereigns, as we find it to have been 
 the case when the queen of Sheba visited king Solomon, 
 and brought him " such spices as had never been seen." 
 We also read that Hezekiah, receiving the envoys of 
 the king of Babylon, showed them all his treasures, 
 "the gold and silver, and the spices and sweet oint- 
 ment." ' 
 
 The most complete description of the various aroma - 
 tics used by the Jews is to be found in the Canticles. 
 A symbolical meaning has been ascribed, it is true, to 
 this splendid Hebrew poem ; but, even if taken in a 
 figurative sense, the frequent mention of perfumes made 
 in it shows that they must have been well-known and 
 appreciated at the Jewish court. 
 
 " Because of the savour of thy good ointment, thy 
 name is as good ointment poured forth." 
 
 " "While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard 
 sendeth forth the smell thereof." 
 
 " My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in 
 the vineyards of Engedi." 
 
 " Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like 
 pillars of smoke perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, 
 with all powders of the merchant ? " 
 
 "The smell of thy garments is like the smell of 
 Lebanon." 
 
 "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with 
 pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard 
 
 au 
 
 ^ 
 
 t JU 
 
 y d-' 
 
 SK--S 
 
 IK 
 
Sfe 
 
 ,'XOc^.' 
 
 ^ 
 
 l-'-^H 
 
 nil. .h:\vs. 
 
 17 
 
 ;iik1 saffian ; cabanas and cinnamon, with all bees ol 
 
 frankincense; myrrh, and alius, with all the chief 
 spices." 
 
 The last lines sum ap the principal fragrant sub- 
 stances then in use, of which the following description 
 may not be deemed out of place : — 
 
 Campliiie is the Same shrub which the Aral is call henna 
 (laicsoitia iiicrniis), the leaves of which are still used by 
 women in the East to impart a rosy tint t<i the palms of 
 
 4W 
 
 
 WE* 
 
 Henna, or Camphj 
 
 $&, 
 
 with enlarged leaf and rlower. 
 
 their hands and the soles of their feet. Its flowers are 
 very fragrant, and are worn in chaplets round the neck. 
 
 or used to decorate apartments and scenl the air. 
 
 The tine nature of Spikenard has been at all times 
 
 the subject of much controversy. Ptolemj mentions it 
 
 as an odoriferous plant, the best of which grew at 
 
 Bangamati and on the borders of the country now called 
 Bootan. Pliny says there are twelve varieties of it — 
 
 
THE HOOK Of FEKFOMES. 
 
 the best being the Indian, the next in quality the Syriac, 
 then the Gallic, and, in the fourth place, that of Crete. 
 He thus describes the Indian spikenard : " It is a shrub 
 with a heavy thick root, but short, black, brittle, and 
 yet unctuous as well ; it has a musty smell, too, very 
 much like that of the cyperus, with a sharp acrid taste, 
 ,Vj the leaves being small, and growing in tufts. The 
 heads of the nard spread out into ears ; hence it is that 
 nard is so famous for its two-fold production, the spike 
 or ear, and the leaf." l The price of genuine spikenard 
 was then one hundred denarii per pound,' 3 and all the 
 other sorts, which were merely herbs, were infinitely 
 cheaper, some being only worth three denarii per 
 pound. 
 
 Galen and Dioscorides give a somewhat similar account 
 of spikenard or nardostac/iys, 3 but the latter pretends 
 that the so-called Syrian nard came in reality from 
 India, whence it was brought to Syria for shipment. 
 The ancients appear to have confounded spikenard with 
 some of the fragrant grasses of India, which would 
 account for the report that Alexander the Great when 
 he invaded Gedrosia could smell from the back of his 
 elephant the fragrance of the nard as it was trod upon 
 by the horses' feet. This error was shared by Linmeus, 
 who did not attempt to classify it, but was inclined to 
 think it was the same as the Andropogon nardus, com- 
 monly called ginger-grass. 
 
 Sir William Jones, the learned orientalist, turned his 
 
 I 
 
 1 Pliny's Nat. Hist, hook \u. chap. 26. 
 
 2 About £3 6s. 8d. of our money. 3 From the Greek vaoSoarcixu 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^. 
 
THE JEWS. 
 
 49 
 
 serious atteiitinn to this question, and after a laborious 
 investigation succeeded in establishing beyond doubt 
 that the spikenard of the ancients was a plant of the 
 valerianic order, called by the Arabs sumbul, which 
 means "spike," and by the Hindus jatamansi, which 
 signifies " lucks of hair," both appellations being derived 
 from its having a stem which somewhat resembles the 
 tail of an ermine or of a small 
 weasel. He consequently gave 
 it the name of "Valeriana Jata- 
 mansi," under which it is now 
 generally classed by botanists. 
 It is found in the mountainous 
 regions of India, principally in 
 Bootan and Nepaul. Its name 
 appeals to be derived from the 
 Tamil language, in which the 
 syllable rjrrrj ni'ir denotes any 
 thin^ possessing fragrance, such 
 as ndrtum pilltl, " lemon-grass ;" 
 ndrtimpanei, "Indian jasmine;" 
 iiarta niaiium, "wild orange," etc. 
 bable, however, that the word spikenard was often 
 applied by the ancients as a generic name for every 
 sort of perfume, as the Chinese now designate all 
 their scents by the name of :2k heang, which pro- 
 perly means incense, it being for them the type of all 
 perfumes. 
 
 Safiron is composed of the dried stigmata oi the 
 flowers of the crocus safivus. Calamus is the root of 
 
 (r<i/- 
 It 
 
 Spikenard. 
 tana Jatamansi.) 
 
 hiehl 
 
 y pro- 
 
 & i faM 
 
rj'a: 
 
 rr 
 
 d 
 
 <M 
 
 
 v P3 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 THE liOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 the sweet flag- (calamus aromaticus), and Cinnamon the 
 bark of the dnnamomiim rervtn. 
 
 Frankincense is an exudation from a sort of terebinth 
 called boswellia thurifera, which is principally found in 
 Yemen, a part of Arabia. In the time of Pliny it was 
 only to bo procured from that country, and he tells 
 many marvellous stories respecting its mode of collec- 
 tion and the difficul- 
 ties in obtaining it. 
 •.KSvIuI A It has, however, since 
 
 been discovered in 
 some of the moun- 
 tainous parts of India. 
 Myrrh is likewise 
 an exudation from a 
 tree called balsamo- 
 dendron myrrha, found 
 principally in Arabia 
 and Abyssinia. The 
 Greeks attributed a 
 fabulous origin to this 
 precious resin, hold- 
 ing it to bo produced 
 saffron {docs Sativus). by the tears of Myrrha, 
 
 daughter of Cinyrus, king of Cyprus, who had been 
 metamorphosed into a shrub. It is now scarcely used 
 in perfumery, although it was such a favourite with the 
 ancients. 
 
 The aloes mentioned here must not be confounded with 
 the medicinal drue bearing the same name. It is the 
 

 51 
 
 \\ 1 of a tree called aloexylum agallochum and is still 
 
 greatly used in the East as a perfume principally for 
 burning. 
 
 Thai these aromatics formed already an importaul 
 branch of commerce, appears from the words used in 
 (he Canticles, "all powders of the merchant ;" and i; is 
 
 Frankincense ■BosKcllia tkurytra). 
 
 equally evident they wire applied to many purposes. 
 Besides those that wire burned, or used as perfumes, 
 the allusion made to "the smell <>t' the garments, 
 shows that they laid them among their clothes, a 
 custom also observed by the Greeks, as mentioned in 
 
 Homer's " Odvs-ey." ;md kept up to the present day 
 
 amon<; Eastern nations. The most luxurious era 
 
 ' , ,^ ', 
 
 - 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES 
 
 applied scents to their couches, as we read in the 
 
 Pro verbs : — 
 
 " I have perfumed 
 my bed with myrrh, 
 aloes, and cinna- 
 mon." l 
 
 We cannot wonder 
 that the Jews evinced 
 such a taste for per- 
 fumes (a taste which 
 they have retained 
 to the present day), 
 when wc consider 
 with what lavish 
 hand Nature had 
 showered her fra- 
 grant treasures upon 
 them. Judea abound- 
 ed with aromatic 
 plants and shrubs, 
 
 and well might Goldsmith hail it as a second Arabia : 
 
 " Tc fields of Sharon, dross' d in flowery pride ; 
 Ye plains where Jordan rolls its glassy tide; 
 Ye hills of Lebanon, with cedars crowned ; 
 Ye Gilcad groves, that fling perfumes around ; 
 Those hills how sweet ! those plains how wondrous fair ! " 2 
 
 The Egyptian custom of anointing the head of a 
 guest to honour him was practised likewise by the 
 Jews ; thus when Jesus was sitting at table in Bethany, 
 
 1 The Captivity." 
 
"TZGi. 
 
 
 sitefe •- 
 
 
 i in: .r i \% -. 
 
 53 
 
 in the house of Simon the leper, " there came a woman 
 having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very 
 
 precious, and she brake the box and poured it on his 
 head." 1 
 
 The Jews had also borrowed from the Egyptians the 
 practice of embalming their dead, for We sec in the 
 Gospel that alter Jesus's deatli Xicodemus "brought a 
 mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound 
 weight. Then took they the body of Jesus and wound 
 it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of 
 Jews is iii bury." -' 
 
 Soap docs not appear to have been known by the Jews. 
 It is true that the word sojic occurs twice in the Bible, 3 
 but in these instances it may be permitted to doubt if 
 it renders the true meaning of the Hebrew word JV13 
 (borit/i). The Septuagint* translates it " herb," and the 
 Latin Vulgate "the herb borith." Jarchi says it was 
 an herb used by fullers for cleansing clothes, and Mai- 
 monides thinks it was the plant called by the Arabs 
 gaeuJ, which, according to Jerome, grows abundantly 
 in the moist parts of Palestine. Others again asserl 
 that it meant fuller's earth, or a saponaceous clay 
 found in the east, which is still used there for the bath. 
 Dr. Henderson in his new translation of Jeremiah, has 
 it "potash,"' and he appears to be nearer the truth, 
 for I strongly believe borith to have been nitrate of 
 
 ' St. Mark rrr. 3. ' hn six. 39, 40. 
 
 3 Jeremiah ii. 22 ; and Malachi, iii. 2. 
 
 4 A Qreek version of the Old i ippotedto be the work of 
 seventy translators. 
 
 1 Jeremiah and Lamentations, translated bj Dr. Henderson, page H, 
 
 
THli HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 m 
 
 potash, or common nitre. It may be objected that the 
 words used by Jeremiah, " For though thou wash thee 
 with nitre, and take thee much sope," show that nitre 
 and borith were two different things. This I fully admit, 
 but the substance called nitre by the ancients was in 
 reality the natron of Egypt, a sesquicarbonate of soda 
 which was found in several lakes in that country, and used 
 for washing and also for embalming, 1 whilst our common 
 nitre or saltpetre is a nitrate of potash. I am confirmed 
 in this opinion, by the description of the holy incense 
 found in the Talmud (Book Cheritoth,) which comprised 
 WISH? HH3, (borith of Carshena), probably a native 
 nitre found at Carshena, and a very proper ingredient 
 to promote combustion, if we admit it to be nitre, but 
 difficult to explain if it is asserted to be a soap, a clay, 
 or even an herb. 
 
 Jewish women were mostly endowed with great phy- 
 sical beauty — a gift which they have preserved to this 
 time, throughout the work of ages, the changes of climes, 
 and the innumerable hardships to which they have been 
 submitted. Not contented, however, with their natural 
 personal attractions, they tried to enhance them with 
 various cosmetics, among which stood pre-eminent the 
 Egyptian kohl, described in the last chapter. It was 
 this artifice Jezebel resorted to when she was expecting 
 Jehu ; for, although the text says that she painted 
 her face," it was most probably her eyes to which she 
 gave that dark lmo which was I bought so fascinating. 
 Ezekiel explains this mode of painting more clearly 
 
 : 2 Kings ix 30. 
 
 t 
 
 Jst 
 
'"^■'".■■;-j--. 
 
 #•>- 
 
 
 mi, jews. 
 
 56 
 
 when be says, "Thou didst wash thyself, painl 
 thine eyes, and deckedsl thyself with ornaments." 
 
 The toilet implements used by the .lews were, like 
 their perfumes, borrowed principally from their late 
 masters, the Egyptians. They used the same Bori of 
 metal mirrors, and the brazen laver made by Moses for 
 tin' tabernacle was composed of those belonging to the 
 women of the congregation. 
 
 There is no country in the world where manners and 
 
 An Eastern Marriage Procession. 
 
 customs arc so perpetuated from generation to genera- 
 tion as in the East. We find among the modern Arabs 
 the same mode of life which was adopted by the patri- 
 archs of old, and we may likewise form some idea of the 
 
 £ 
 
 ~ 
 
 
 ■■. 
 
&F?& 
 
 THE BOOK Of PERFUMES. 
 
 costumes and habits of ancient Jewish women from those 
 
 of the present occupants of the Holy Land. The marriage 
 procession represented on the 
 previous page may give us 
 some notion of the ancient way 
 of performing that ceremony. 
 The sweet aspersions and aro- 
 matic fumigations are still 
 maintained ; and in the an- 
 nexed engraving of an Eastern 
 bride, we recognise many of 
 the ornaments, with the loss 
 of which Isaiah threatens the 
 daughters of Zion as a punish- 
 ment for their wickedness : — 
 " In that day the Lord will 
 take away the bravery of their 
 tinkling ornaments about their 
 feet, and their cauls, and their 
 round tires like the moon, 
 
 " The chains, and the brace- 
 lets, and the mufflers, 
 
 " The bonnets, and the orna- 
 ments of the legs, and the 
 
 head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, 
 " The rings and nose-jewels, 
 " The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, 
 
 and the wimples, and the crisping-pins, 
 
 " The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and 
 
 the veils. 
 
 Eastern Bnde 
 
 w> 
 
i in: .11. us. 
 
 o7 
 
 "And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet 
 smell, there shall be u bad odour ; and instead of a 
 girdle, a rent ; and instead (if well-set hair, baldness; 
 and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth ; and 
 
 burning instead of beauty." ' 
 
 Of all the menaces held out by»the prophet to the 
 
 Hebrew women, that of baldness must have been the 
 most severely felt by them, for they generally possessed 
 very tine hair, which they wore confined in a net or 
 caul, and ornamented with "round tires like the moon." 
 The men also kepi 
 their hair long, just 
 as it grew; and Absa- 
 lom's hair is said to 
 have weighed two 
 hundred shekels, 
 which is about thirty- 
 one ounces. Shorn 
 locks were usually a 
 sign of slavery; and 
 in this lamentable guise are represented Jewish captives 
 at Babylon suing mercy from their conquerors. The 
 priests had their haircut every fortnight, while they were 
 in waiting at the temple. The Xazarites, who mad- a 
 vow of observing a more than ordinary degree of purity, 
 were forbidden from touching their hair with a razor or 
 Boiasors during its continuance, but when it ended tin \ 
 came to the door of the temple, and the priest shaved 
 their heads, and burnt their hair on the altar. 
 1 Isai.ih iii. 18-21. 
 
 1 i lives at Eabylon. 
 
THE BOOK OF PEKHM1-. 
 
 Josephus relates that, in grand ceremonies, king Solo- 
 mon was preceded by forty pages, all scions of noble 
 families, wearing their hair profusely powdered with 
 gold-dust, which, glittering in the sun's rays, had a 
 most brilliant effect. Our belles of the present time 
 who patronise this, mode of adornment and ascribe its 
 invention to a modern illustrious lady, may not be aware 
 that it is some three thousand years old, which confirms 
 once more the truth of the adage, that " there is nothing 
 new under the sun." 
 
y ii^u^h.^ t^^^^^k^^^j^k^ 
 
" In this pleasant roil 
 His far more pleasant garden God ordained, 
 Out of the Fertile ground he caused to prow 
 All trees of noblest kind for sight, smell, taste." 
 
 Melton's Pabadisk Lost. 
 
 HE strip of land 
 running between 
 those two mighty 
 rivers, the Tigris 
 and the Euphra- 
 tes) which was 
 called Mesopo- 
 tamia by the an- 
 cients, and is 
 named KUezireli 
 by its modern in- 
 al.itants, is supposed 
 > have been the site of 
 Etrthly Paradise. Sonic 
 Scripture commentators, it is 
 true, entertain the opinion that 
 it was placed in Armenia ; but 
 ml of the four riven mentioned 
 in Genesis a. flowing through it. two being evidently 
 
• : 
 
 60 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 R^ 
 
 the Tigris and the Euphrates, it seems more natural 
 to suppose that Mesopotamia was the scene of that mag- 
 nificent garden of Eden so beautifully described by 
 Milton in his noble poem : — 
 
 " It was a place 
 Chosen by the immortal Planter, when he framed 
 All things to man's delightful use : the roof 
 Of thickest covert was inwoven shade, 
 Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew 
 Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either side 
 Acanthus, and each odorous bushy shrub, 
 Fenced up the verdant wall ; each beauteous flower, 
 Iris all hues, roses and jessamine, 
 
 Rear'd high their flourished heads between, and wrought 
 Mosaic ; under foot the violet, 
 Crocus, and hyacinth, with rich inlay 
 Broider'd the ground, more colour'd than with stone 
 Of costliest emblem." ' 
 
 That this favoured spot has preserved its natural 
 beauties to the present day we may judge by Layard's 
 description of the environs of the ancient city of Nini- 
 roud : — 
 
 " Flowers of every hue enamelled the meadows ; not 
 thinly scattered over the grass as in northern climes, 
 but in such thick and gathering clusters, that the whole 
 plain seemed a patchwork of many colours." - 
 
 Such an attractive region could not fail to be chosen 
 by man at an early period for a dwelling-place ; nor is 
 it to be wondered at that it tempted more than once 
 the ambitious invader to overrun its fertile plains and 
 settle with his hordes in this desirable spot. It would 
 be, however, quite out of my province to trace the his- 
 
; -V 
 
 \t 
 
 tory of the great Eastern empire from its foundation by 
 Ashur, the son of Shem, and Nimrod, " tlie mighty 
 lmnter," to its oonqneet by Cyrus. I shall confine my- 
 Belf to what strictly appertains to my subject, and en- 
 deavour to delineate the manners and customs of the 
 Assyrians, the Modes, the Persians, the Chaldeans, and 
 other ancient Asiatic nations. 
 
 Besides the frequent reference to the Assyrians and 
 Chaldeans which we find in the Bible, Herodotus, 
 Xcnophon, Diodorus Siculus, and other authors have 
 transmitted to ns, some curious and valuable informa- 
 tion, respecting the mode of life of those luxurious 
 people, which has been full}' confiimcd by modern 
 discoveries. 
 
 For many centuries, Nineveh and Babylon, once the 
 wonders of the universe, lived but in the memories of 
 men. Their sites were scarcely known ; and it was 
 thought that every trace of them had disappeared from 
 the face of the earth, when, some fifty years since, 
 an English scholar and a French savant, Bich and 
 Niebuhr, after long and patient researches, succeeded in 
 lifting a corner of the shroud of sand and ruin which 
 had so long covered the dead cities, and revealed to tin 
 astonishment of the world the splendours of Assyrian 
 architecture. These pioneers of exploration were fol- 
 lowed by Botta, Bonomi, Layard, and other ardent 
 investigators, who, by dint of untiring perseverance and 
 energy, rescued many valuable treasures from the mounds 
 >it rubbish which the present occupiers of the soil had 
 allowed, in their careless ignorance, to accumulate over 
 
 
 TS^» 
 
l&\r<t 
 
 ^feyi^Sf^ ■'■■ 
 
 THE HOOK <)!•■ PERFUMES 
 
 them. These interesting- relics now enrich our museums ; 
 and in their graphic illustrations we may read, as in a 
 written book, the manners and customs of a nation which 
 rivalled Egypt in the arts of peace and war. 
 
 The Assyrians wor- 
 shipped many deities. 
 the principal of which 
 were the sun, the moon, 
 and the constellations. 
 Baal, or Belus, the 
 Egyptian Osiris, typi- 
 fied the sun, and was the most highly venerated of 
 them all. Next came Astarte, or Mylitta, the Assyrian 
 Venus, who, like Isis in Egypt, was honoured under the 
 shape of the moon, 
 which accounts for 
 her being generally 
 represented with a 
 crescent on her head. 
 Dagon, or the fish- 
 god, was principally 
 revered by the Phoe- 
 nicians, to whom he 
 was said to have 
 taught the art of 
 navigation. 
 
 On all the altars 
 erected to these gods, incense and aromatic gums were 
 burnt in great profusion, for Ave read in the Holy Writ 
 of the " idolatrous priests that burn incense unto Baal, 
 
 Astarte. the Assvr.an Venus. 
 

 1 *^g /^^^.•-^^_i- x .-^^fe 
 
 1 111. \\( 11 \ I \s| \ I !'' N ITION8. 
 
 68 
 
 i- 
 
 to the sun and the moon, and to the planets, and to all 
 the host of heaven." ' 
 
 Herodotus describee a1 (treat length the magnificenl 
 
 Dagou, or the Fish-god. I iKhoraabad). 
 
 temple erected in Babylon in honour of Baal, or Belus, 
 
 which consisted in a series of eight huge towers 
 
 raised one over the other, and 
 
 thought by some to have been 
 
 identical with the Tower of 
 
 BabeL In the interior was a 
 
 golden statue of the god, said 
 
 to have weighed eight hundred 
 
 talents (which made it worth 
 
 about three millions of our 
 
 money), and on the altar, which 
 
 was also made of massive 
 
 gold, they burned every year 
 
 one thousand talents of pure Z 
 
 incense. - 
 
 Besides these deities the As- 
 syrians also worshipped their ancient sovereigns, BUch 
 1 2 Kings xxiii. 6. •' ETerodotoa, boot i 
 
 r.rod'a Statue Mid Altar. 
 
 J£t 
 
 
THE BOOK OF PEKFVMES. 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 as Nimrod, under whose statue an altar was found in 
 one of the excavated monuments ; and Semiramis, their 
 great queen, who had raised Babylon to its greatest state 
 of splendour, and who was supposed to have been trans- 
 formed into a dove, under which shape she was adored. 
 
 Their altars were not 
 
 
 tf 
 
 always placed in the 
 temples ; they were 
 sometimes raised on 
 high places, a custom 
 frequently alluded to 
 in the Bible, and fur- 
 ther illustrated by mo- 
 dern discoveries. The 
 Aita7onaH^hH^r " priests represented in 
 
 the sculptures by the sides of the altar generally have 
 
 in their hand a small square basket of wicker-work, the 
 
 destination of which has greatly puzzled the savans. It 
 
 may probably have been used 
 
 to carry the aromatic gums 
 
 and woods to be burned in the 
 
 sacrifice. The consumption of 
 
 these precious drugs was so 
 
 large that, besides what the 
 
 country produced, additional 
 
 supplies were obtained from 
 
 neighbouring nations. The 
 
 Arabians alone, according to 
 
 Herodotus, had to furnish a yearly tribute of one thou- 
 sand talents of frankincense. 
 
 Assyrian Altar and Priests 
 (Khorsabad). 
 
 IU 
 
 i*. 
 
 !§AJ 
 
 &-<* 
 
JHB 
 
 r ■ - ... 
 
 THE ANCIENT \M \ I I< NATIONS. 
 
 Zoroaster, daring the reign of Darius Hystaspes, nn- 
 dertooh to reform the religion of the Persians, and sub- 
 Btituted the worship of fire for that of their various 
 idols. Five times a day did his priests burn perfumes 
 mi the altar, and it was thoir duty to watch by turns so 
 that the holy flame might not be extinguished. 
 
 Th - following origin was ascribed to the sacred fire: 
 An astrologer once predicted at Babylon the birth of 
 a child who would dethrone the king. The reigning 
 monarch gave orders thereupon to have all women who 
 wore in a state of pregnancy put to death ; but one of 
 them, whose appearance had not betrayed her, gave 
 secretly birth to the future prophet. The king having 
 heard of it a short time after, sent for the child and 
 tried to kill him with his own hand, but his arm was 
 withered on the spot. He then had him placed on a 
 lighted stake, but the burning pile changed into a bed 
 of roses, on which the child quietly slept. Some per- 
 sons present saved a portion of the fire, which was kept 
 up to the present day, in memory of this great miracle. 
 The king made two other attempts to destroy Zoroaster, 
 but received punishment for his w iekedness in the shape 
 of a gnat which entered his ear and caused his death.' 
 
 Zoroaster's doctrines were adopted and upheld by the 
 kings of the Sassanide dynasty, one of whom is repre- 
 sented on thcaccompanyin.irmedal.havingon theobverse 
 a pyreum, or holy altar-fire. "When Persia was invaded 
 by the Turks, his sectaries flew from the persecutions 
 to which they were subjected by the Mahometans, and 
 
 ' Tnvprnior, Voyage en PtfM, 
 
 
rHE HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 took refuge on ilic western coast of India, where they 
 continue to exercise their religion under the name of 
 Parsees, or Gliehers. They still keep up the sacred 
 
 Sassamde Medal. 
 
 fires on brazen altars, upon which they throw aromatic 
 gums in their ceremonies. 
 
 The luxurious and refined habits of the Assyrians in 
 ~ ■ -.. private life naturally in- 
 
 , volved the use of per- 
 
 fumes and cosmetics. 
 Their last monarch, Sar- 
 danapalus, whom Col. 
 Rawlinson calls Assar- 
 adan-pal, carried this 
 passion to such an ex- 
 tent, that he dressed and 
 painted like his women ; 
 and, when driven to the last extremity by the rapid 
 advance of the conqueror, he chose a death worthy of 
 an Eastern voluptuary by causing a pile of fragrant 
 woods to be lighted, and, placing himself on it with 
 his wives and treasures, was sweetly suffocated by 
 aromatic smoke. Duris, however, and other historians 
 quoted by Athenanis, give another version of his death. 
 
 Vft 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
 
 tHE wur.vr \M mc N \Tin\s. 
 
 6i 
 
 They say thai Arbaces, one of his generals, having gone 
 to v^it Sardanapalus, found him painted with vermilion 
 and clad in female garb. He was just in the act of 
 
 pencilling his eyebrows when Arbaces entered, and the 
 general was so indignant at the effeminacy of the monarch 
 thai he stabbed him on the spot. 
 
 Great as was the magnificence of Nineveh, it was 
 scarcely equal to that of Babylon, which, according to 
 ancient records, had a circumference of sixty miles, and 
 contained the most gorgeous buildings and immense 
 riches. Foremost among all these marvels were the 
 celebrated hanging gardens which Nebuchadnezzar 
 erected to please his wifeAxnytes, daughter of Astyanax, 
 king of the Medea, and which were classed among the 
 wonders of the world. 
 
 " 'Within the walls was raised a lofty mound 
 When flowers and aromatic ahruhi adorned 
 Tin' pensile garden. Fur Xel.a.-sir's qui i a 
 Fatigued with Babylonia's level plains, 
 
 i for her Median home, where Nature's hand 
 Had scoopi .I the vales and clothed the mountain side 
 With many a verdant wood; not long sin pined 
 Till that uxorious monarch called on Art 
 
 To rival N.I i ;, ty. 
 
 Forthwith two hundred thousand slaves upriar'd 
 This hill— egregious work, rich fruits o'erhang 
 The sloping vales, and odorous shrubs entwine 
 Their undulating branches." 
 
 Then by the side of the lofty o dar gp w the mourn- 
 ful cypress and the elegant mimosa; but the favourite 
 resort of the Queen was the bower where bloomed the 
 rose and the lily, vying with each other in beauty and 
 fragrance. 
 
 
 
 
 "3 - V 
 
 
 
 
 ,- 
 
We can easily conceive that people who professed 
 such admiration for fragrant flowers had an adequate 
 esteem for perfumes, and that when the season of the 
 
 
 w% 
 
 THE JiOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 Anil the jessamine faint, and the sweet tuberose, 
 The sweetest flower for scent that blows, 
 And all rare blossoms from every clime ! " 
 
 Assyrian Ointment Boxe3 
 
 former was past they had recourse to the latter to per- 
 petuate their enjoyment of "sweet smells." Babylon 
 was, in fine, the chief mart for perfumes in the East, 
 and Babylonian scents were celebrated far and wide. 
 

 
 Till-; \\l II A I A-l MM N \. IONS. 
 
 with cuneiform inscriptions were bund by Mr. Layard 
 in thf excavations at Nimroud. 
 
 The Babylonians themselves were great consumers of 
 aroinatics, tor Herodotus tills us that they used to per- 
 fume their whole bodies witli the costliest Mints, and 
 at their magnificent banquets fragrant cassolettes irere 
 kept constantly burning. 
 
 Cosmetics were also in much request among those 
 luxurious people. .Stibium, a preparation of antimony 
 similar to the Egyptian kohl, they applied to the lids 
 and corners of the eyes to make them appear larger and 
 more brilliant. They used, besides, white and red paint 
 for the face, and they rubbed their skin with pumice- 
 stone to make it .smooth. 
 
 Nieolaus of Damascus narrates the following curious 
 anecdote, which illustrates the manners of the Babylon- 
 ians. In the reign of Artocus, king of the Medes, one 
 of his favourites, named Par sondes, a man renowned for 
 his courage and strength, having observed that Nanarus, 
 the governor of Babylon, was very effeminate in his 
 person, shaving himself and using -various cosmetics, he 
 asked the king to transfer his post to him. Arta us n - 
 fused, and Nanarus, having heard what had occurred, 
 swore to be revenged on Parsondes. He caused him to 
 be sei/ed whilst he was hunting near Babylon, and 
 having had him brought before him, inquin d for what 
 reason he had tried to supplant him. " Because," an- 
 swered Paraondee, "I thought myself more worthy of 
 the honour, for I am more manly and more useful to 
 
 tin- king than you, who an- shaven, ami have your eyi a 
 
 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 underlined with stibium, and your face painted with 
 white lead." Nanarus, on hearing this, delivered his 
 enemy into the hands of a slave, to whom he gave strict 
 orders to shave him, rub him with pumice-stone, bathe 
 him twice a-day, anoint him, paint his eyes, and plait 
 his hair like a woman's. This mode of treatment soon 
 
 rendered Parsondes as effeminate as his rival ; and, some 
 time after, Artasus having sent one of his officers to 
 Babylon to claim his favourite, Nanarus had him brought 
 among one hundred and fifty female musicians before 
 the ambassador, who could not recognise him, and took 
 him for a woman. 
 
 The Medea were no less expert in the ail of inipart- 
 
 
 t 
 
 As] 
 
 &•* 
 

 '• s 
 
 "CrQ v 
 
 
 1 III. \M !!■. N I \M \\ l: N \l IONS 
 
 Jl 
 
 bag artificial charms to their persona. Xenophon, in 
 bia Cyropedia, 1 relates thai when Cyrus, at the age of 
 twelve yean, went with his mother to \i-it his grand- 
 father, Astyages, King of the Modes, he found him 
 adorned with paint round his eyes, colour on hia tare, 
 and a magnificent wig of flowing ringlets. The boy, 
 thinking all this was real, turned round to his mother, 
 and exclaimed, in his naive admiration, "Oh, mother, 
 how handsome my grandfather ial" 
 
 The Persians borrowed from the Medes their taste 
 for perfumes and eosmeties. Their kings usually spent 
 their Bummers at Echatana, and their winters at Bubo ; 
 the latter place was celebrated tor its beautiful flowers, 
 and especially the lily, which, being tailed Sousoh in 
 the Persian language, gave its name to the town. Such 
 w;ls their predilection for perfumes that they usually 
 wore on their heads erowns made, according to Dinon, 
 of myrrh and a sweet-smelling plant called lahyzus. 
 In the palaces of lnonarchs and individuals of rank. 
 aromatics were constantly burning in richly-wroughl 
 vessels, a custom of which we find an illustration in 
 
 the annexed engraving, taken from the sculptures at 
 
 Persepolis. 
 
 When Darius was vanquished by Alexander at the 
 battle of Arhela, he left behind him in his tent, among 
 
 other treasures, a caskel tilled with precious aromatics. 
 Alexander, who at that time professed to despise such 
 
 luxuries, had them thrown out, and replaced them with 
 
 the works of Homer, who, by-the-bye, does ool appear 
 1 Xi nophon, Cjrop. b. i. c 3. 
 
held some games at Daphne, where Mints played a 
 
 most important part. 
 
 In one of tho processions that took place there were 
 two bandied women sprinkling every one with perfumes 
 
 out of golden watering-pots. In another, marched 
 boys in purple tunics, bearing frankincense, and myrrh. 
 and saffron, on golden dishes, and after them came two 
 incense-burners made of ivy- wood, covered with gold, 
 six cubits in height, and a large square golden altar 
 in the middle of them. Every one who entered the 
 gymnasium was anointed with some perfume contained 
 in gold dishes. There were fifteen of these dishes, each 
 holding different scents, such as saffron, cinnamon, 
 spikenard, fenugreek, amaracus, lilies, etc. Thousands 
 of guests were invited, and after being richly feasted 
 were st nt away with crowns of myrrh and frank- 
 incense. 
 
 The same king was once bathing in the public baths, 
 when some private person, attracted by the fragrant 
 odour which he shed around him, accosted him, saying, 
 "You are a happy man, <» king: you smell in a most 
 costly manner." Antiochus, being much pleased with 
 the remark, replied, " I will give you as much as you can 
 deflire of this perfume." The king then ordered a large 
 ewer of thick unguent to be poured over his head, and 
 a multitude of poor people soon collected around him to 
 gather what was spilled. This caused the king infinite 
 amusement, but it made the place so greasy that he 
 slipped and fell on his royal hack in a most undignified 
 manner, which put an end to his merriment) 
 
 ^yft'—T » 
 
^^M*fc. 
 
 a 
 
 All other Asiatic nations made great use of perfumes, 
 and paid great attention to their toilet ; but none, per- 
 haps, exceeded in that taste the Lydians, who were 
 most effeminate, and whom Xenophanes describes as 
 
 " Boasting of hair luxuriously dress'd, 
 Dripping with costly and sweet-smelling oils. 
 
 The Egyptian custom of embalming docs not appear 
 to have been practised in the same manner by the 
 Assyrians or Babylonians. Herodotus says that the 
 latter preserved the bodies of their dead with honey, 
 but this woidd not have been sufficient without the 
 admixture of some aromatic substances. M. Botta 
 found a great number of funereal urns at Nineveh, 
 which only contained fragments of bones, the bodies 
 having been transformed into clay. 
 
 Xo ancient nation devoted such care to the hair and 
 beard as the Assyrians. The mass of luxuriant curls 
 falling over the shoulders and the elaborately plaited 
 beard are so familiar to those who have visited our 
 museums that I need not give any enlarged description 
 of this fashion. The kings usually had 
 gold thread interwoven with their beard, 
 which, contrasting with its dark hue, had 
 a most brilliant effect. Their head-dress 
 was of a semi-conical form, and enriched 
 with pearls and jewels. Cyrus is said to 
 have been the first to wear the tiara, 
 but he is represented on a monument at 
 Persepolis with a most peculiar head- 
 dress, which, if ornamental, must have been somewhat 
 
 ffii 
 
 £ 
 
 King's Head-dress. 
 
 J*. 
 
 sf^ 
 
Cyrus' Head-dress. 
 
 (Peisepohs.; 
 
 Far-rings 
 
 1 
 
 
 THE ancii.m ASIATIC Nation's. 7/> 
 
 iiiron \ iniciit , .is tlic reader may judge from the annexed 
 engraving, which would not form a bad 
 design for a candelabrum. 
 
 Ladies wore their hair flowing in 
 long ringlets over their .shoulders, and 
 
 simply confined by a hand round the 
 
 head, as shown in the accompanying 
 
 illustration. They wore massive ear- 
 rings and a profusion of jewels, and 
 
 m re mostly pretty. Those, however, 
 
 who had not been favoured with Nature's gifts did not 
 on that account remain -111- 
 ^2» f^S (35^2^ s' i>; ,or > by a very curious 
 custom established at Ba- 
 bylon, all marriageable 
 girls were assembled to- 
 gether at a certain time, 
 
 and the rich suitors selected first the handsomest brides, 
 
 and paid down a dowry, 
 
 which was given to the 
 
 Others, who by means of 
 
 this easily found husbands 
 
 turning the young men who 
 
 cared more for money than 
 
 beauty. 
 
 All the Asiatic people at- 
 tached the greatest value 
 
 to their hair; and well did 
 
 HLausolus, king ot ( ai La, 
 
 turn this loudness to account when he resorted to th 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFVMES 
 
 following stratagem to replenish his impoverished 
 exchequer. Having first had a quantity of wigs 
 manufactured and carefully stored in the royal ware- 
 houses, he published an edict compelling all his sub- 
 jects to have their heads shaved. The unfortunates had 
 to submit ; and when, a few days after, the monarch's 
 agents went round offering them the perukes destined 
 to cover their denuded polls they were glad to buy 
 them at anv price. !No wonder that Artemisia could 
 not console herself for the loss of such a clever hus- 
 band ; and that, not satisfied with drinking his ashes 
 every day mixed with her wine, she exhausted the 
 treasures of the state in erecting to his manes a splendid 
 monument, which was reckoned one of the wonders of 
 the world. 
 
. 
 

 THE HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 that purpose. No Greek commenced a journey or any 
 other enterprise of greater or lesser moment 
 without having first sought to propitiate the 
 god whose protection he thought he might re- 
 quire in his undertaking, by sacrificing the 
 animal consecrated to that particular deity. 
 Thus an ox was offered to Jupiter, a dog to 
 Hecate, a dove to Venus, a sow to Ceres, and a 
 fish to Neptune. The victim was laid on the altar 
 decked with garlands of fragrant herbs or flowers, and 
 
 burned with frankincense, accompanied with libations of 
 
 wine out of a flat vessel called patera. This formed the 
 
 complete oblation described by Hesiod. 
 
 " Let the rich fumes of od'rous incense fly, 
 A grateful savour to the powers on high ; 
 The due libation nor neglect to nay, 
 "When evening closes, or when dawns the day." 1 
 
 In the more ordinary sorts of sacrifices, incense alone 
 was burned on the i/iyterion, or incense altar, as re- 
 presented in the accompanying engraving. At all the 
 numerous religious festivals held in Greece, aromatics 
 were consumed in large quantities. The principal of 
 these fStes were the Panathensea, in honour of Minerva; 
 the Eleutheria, celebrated at Plataea, in the temple of 
 Jupiter ; and the Dyonisia, of which Bacchus was the 
 1 Hesiod, Oper. i. 334. 
 
 £, 
 
 wt«o^-* Q>\ 
 
-; 
 
 
 
 -' 
 
 Incense Altar. 
 
 Tin: OBBBKS. 7!) 
 
 hero; bat none equalled in magnificence the Eleusiniai] 
 
 mysteries, instituted in honour of Ceres. The latter 
 festival hated nine days, (luring 
 which the myste), or initiates, 
 were gradually subjected to a 
 
 series of terrifying trials to test 
 
 their fortitude. Those who had 
 
 succeeded in braving the most 
 
 hideous apparitions, the most 
 
 ferocious monsters, and the most 
 
 appalling dangers, were iutro- 
 
 duoed on the ninth day into the 
 
 temple of the goddess, where her statue, covered with 
 
 gold and precious stones, shone amidst a thousand 
 
 lights. The altar, smoking with the purest incense, 
 "as surrounded by a crowd 
 of priests clad in purple, and 
 Crowned with myrtle; and 
 above them, on a splendid 
 throne, sat the Hierophant, 
 or high priest, who expounded 
 to the adepts the mysteries 
 of the goddess, and described 
 to them thejoyswhieh awaited 
 them in return for their cour- 
 age. In the midst of the 
 Elysian fields theywere to find 
 
 a golden city with emerald ramparts, ivorv pavement, 
 and cinnamon gates. Around the walls flowed a river of 
 perfumes one hundred cubits in width, and deep enough 
 
 I 
 
 
 ! . 
 
 
 

 Sk/ 
 
 
 to swim in. From this river rose an odorous mist, 
 which enveloped the whole place and shed a refreshing 
 and fragrant dew. There were to be, besides, in this 
 fortunate city, three hundred and sixty-five fountains 
 of honey and five hundred of the sweetest essences. 
 This description, taken from a Greek author, bears a 
 singular resemblance to that of the marvels of Ma- 
 homet's paradise, promised to the Mussulmans in the 
 Koran, as will be seen hereafter, and shows the pas- 
 sionate fondness of both people for perfumes. 
 
 The Greeks, with their lively imagination, constantly 
 mixing up fable with reality, ascribed a divine origin 
 to perfumes, which they numbered among the attri- 
 butes of their deities. Thus, as I have remarked before 
 in the first chapter, the early poets never mention the 
 appariiion of a goddess without speaking of the am- 
 brosial fragrance which she shed around her. The gods 
 who revelled in nectar and ambrosia, food unknown to 
 mortals, indulged also in delicious perfumes specially 
 reserved to their use. Homer thus describes Juno's 
 toilet operations when she repairs to her bower before 
 meeting Venus : — 
 
 •• Here first she bathes, and round her body pours 
 Soft oils of fragrance, and ambrosial showers. 
 The 'winds, perfumed, the balmy gale conveys 
 Through heaven, through earth, and all th' aerial ways. 
 Spirit divine ! whose exhalation greets 
 The sense of gods with more than mortal sweets." ' 
 
 Sometimes good-natured deities condescended to be- 
 stow some of these exquisite aromatics upon their own 
 
 1 Iliad, viv. 
 
'&W 
 
 81 
 
 prott'ijcs as a mark of special favour. Tims, when Pene- 
 lope prepares to receive her suitors, Eurynome advises 
 
 her to dispel her grief, and diffuse " the grace of unction 
 over her cheeks." The virtuous matron refuses in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " Persuade not me, though studious of my good, 
 
 Eurynome ! to bathe or to anoint 
 
 Mj lace with oil; for when Ulysses sail'd, 
 
 On that same day, the lWrs of Ileav'n deform'd 
 
 And withrr'd all my hi antic-." 
 
 Pallas, however, visits her during her slumbers, and 
 
 sheds over her some wonderful perfume, which was pro- 
 
 bably called in ihose times "The Venus Pouquet." 
 
 "The glorious goddess clothed her as she lay 
 With beauty of the skies ; her lovely face 
 With such ambrosia] unguent Hist she bathed 
 As Cytherca, chaplct-erowned, employ s 
 Hi 1-1 It', when in the sight-entangling dance 
 She joins the Graces." ' 
 
 Phaon, the Lesbian pilot, having once conveyed in 
 ln's vessel to Cyprus a mysterious passenger, whom he 
 discovers to be Venus, receives from the goddess, as a 
 parting gift, a divine essence, which changes his coarse 
 Wirr into the most beautiful features. Poor Sappho, 
 who sees him after his transformation, becomes smitten 
 with his charms, hut, finding her love unrequited, is 
 driven to seek a watery grave. This miracle certainly 
 beats all the vaunted achievements of modern perfumery, 
 even including the "patent enamelling process," which, 
 if applied to gentlemen, would not, I am afraid, attract 
 many " Sapphos." 
 
 The persons skilled in preparing perfumes — and they 
 1 Odiseev, rriii. „ 
 
 
 C : 
 

 
 THE BOOK OF FLRFl M - 
 
 were mostly women — were deemed by the Greeks, with 
 their love of the marvellous, to be magicians. Thus we 
 hare Circe detaining Ulysses in her isle by means of 
 spells, which were chiefly sweet fumigations : and Medea 
 boiling old Eson in an aromatic bath, and turning him 
 (.put a perfect juvenile — an operation, by-the-bye, which 
 :' our old beaux would submit to, whatever may be 
 their wish to become young again. 
 
 The nymph (Enone was supposed to have imparted 
 to Paris some of the secrets of Tenus's toilet, and it was 
 bv means of these cosmetics that the fair Helen acquired 
 that transcendent beauty which was so fatal to both 
 Greeks and Trojans. These secrets she revealed to her 
 countrywomen on her return from Troy, and thus we 
 have the perfection of Greek perfumery accounted for. 
 
 In those ancient times, besides the fragrant gums 
 burned as sacrifices, the only perfumes known appear 
 to have been in the shape of oils scented with flowers, 
 and principally the rose. Homer generally designates 
 them under the name of e\awv, claion (oil i , adding 
 sometimes the epithet of " rosy" or " ambrosial." At a 
 later period the Ionians introduced a greater variety of 
 neea chiefly borrowed from Asiatic nations, who 
 were then more versed in the art. 
 
 Their use became so prevalent at one time, that Solon 
 issued an edict prohibiting the sale of perfumes ; but, 
 like all sumptuary law?, it was " more honoured in the 
 breach than the observance,'" for perfumers' shops still 
 continued to be the resort of loungers, as modern 
 are in the south of Europe. Even the tattered cynic, 
 
 W 
 
 
 p "-v 
 
• 
 
 
 THE QBEBES. g'-j 
 
 Diogenes, did not disdain to enter them now and then, 
 fearing his tub at the door; but, with a praiseworthy 
 spirit of economy, he always applied the ointments he 
 bought to hie/arf; for, as he justly observed to the 
 young sparks who were mocking him for his eccen- 
 tricity, "when you anoint your head with perfume it 
 Hies away into the air, and the birds only get the benefit 
 of it; whilst if I rob j, on I11V ]lW(T ]imbs it C]m , ln]irs 
 my whole body, and gratefully ascends to my nose." 
 
 The general name for perfumes was pvpov (mi/rou), 
 which, according to Chrymppus, was derived from the 
 word moron (trouble), "owing to the vain and unprofitable 
 labour of compounding it." I put this down, however 
 as the detestable pun of a man who had << no perfume in 
 his soul," and am more inclined to believe it came from 
 the word myrrh, as being the best known of aromatics. 
 The Greeks in the time of their splendour used a 
 great variety of scents and unguents, the 
 principal of which are thus described at full 
 length by Apollonius of Herophila, in his 
 "Treatise on Perfumes," quoted by Athe- 
 naBue : ' — 
 
 "Tlie iris is best in Elis and at t'vzicus ; Sc * laba3ter 
 the perfume made from roses is most excellent at Pha-" 
 selis, and that made at Naples and Capua is also very 
 fine. That made from crocus (saffron) is i„ the highest 
 perfection at Soli in Cilieia, and at Rhodes. The essence 
 of spikenard is best at Tarsus, and the extract of rine- 
 
 fesvtt is made beet at Cyprus and at Adramy.tium. 
 1 DeijHHaophuts, b. it. d, 38. 
 
 L- 
 
 I 
 
 ^£?pr ' 
 
THE HOOK OF PERFUMES 
 
 84 
 
 The best perfume from marjoram and from apples comes 
 from Cos. Egypt bears the palm for its essence of 
 Cypirus, and the next best is the Cyprian and Phoeni- 
 cian, and after them comes the Sidonian. The perfume 
 called Panathenaicum is made at Athens, and those 
 called Metopian and Mendcsian are prepared with the 
 greatest skill in Egypt. But the Metopian is made 
 from oil which is extracted from bitter almonds. Still, 
 the superior excellence of each perfume is owing to the 
 purveyors, und the materials, and the artist, and not to 
 the place itself, for Ephesus formerly, as men say, had 
 a high reputation for the excellence of its perfumery, 
 and especially of its megallium, but now it has none. 
 At one time, too, the unguents made in Alexandria were 
 brought to high perfection on account of the wealth of 
 the city and the attention that Arsinoe and Berenice 
 paid to such matters ; and the finest extract of roses in 
 the world was made at Cyrene while the great Berenice 
 was alive. Again, in ancient times the extract of vine- 
 leaves made at Adranvyttium was but poor ; but after- 
 wards it became first-rate, owing to Stratonice, the wife 
 of Eumenes. Formerly, too, Syria used to make every 
 sort of unguent admirably, especially that extracted from 
 fenugreek, but the case is quite altered now. And long 
 ago there used to be a most delicious unguent extracted 
 from frankincense at Pergamus, owing to the invention 
 of a certain perfumer of that city, for no one else had 
 ever made it before him ; but now none is made there." 
 Thcophrastus also wrote a book on scents, in which 
 lie says that, some perfumes are made of flowers, as, for 
 
 [£b 
 

 ifess^fc-. md 
 
 THE CiKEKKS. 
 
 8D 
 
 instance, from roses, white violets, and lilies — some 
 from stalks 0T leaves, and some from roots. 
 
 The name of the perfumes generally indicated the 
 ingredients from which they were prepared, hut others 
 
 were called after their inventor. Thus the Mcgallium 
 
 was made by a perfumer named Megallus — 
 
 "An] say you are bringing her such nngni nta 
 As old Megallus never did compound." ' 
 
 Peron was also a celebrated Athenian perfumer, often 
 
 quoted by ancient authors : — 
 
 •• 1 Lit the man in Peron's Bbopjnst now 
 Dealing lot ointment ; when he baa agreed, 
 He'll bring you cinnamon and spikenard essence."' 
 
 Baocaris and Psagdas, or Psagdes, were two perfumes 
 much in vogue : — 
 
 "I then my DOM with bacearil anointed. 
 
 lit 'ilolellt of crocus." 1 
 
 " Come, let me see what unguent I can give you : 
 
 Do you like psagdes }" ' 
 "She thrice anointed with Egyptian psagdas."" 
 
 The most luxurious applied a different perfume to 
 each part of their body, as we find in Antiphanes: — 
 
 " lie really bathes 
 
 In a large gilded tub, and Bteeps Lis feet 
 and legs in rich Egyptian unguents; 
 
 His jaws and breasts he rubs with thick palm oil, 
 And both his arms with extract sweet of mint ; 
 II i~ eyebrows and his hair with marjoram, 
 His knees and neck with essence of ground thyme." 
 
 The greatest consumption of aromatic.-, however, took 
 
 place in their entertainments. Already in Homeric 
 
 times it was customary to oner co the guests a hath 
 
 ttia, Ifedea. - Antiphases, Ante*. ' Hipponax. 
 
 ' Arist. .ph. Daitalaa. ' Kuhulus. 
 
dU 
 
 followed by sweet unctions before sitting to table. Thus 
 when Telemachus and Pisistratus are received by Mene- 
 laus they descend to the baths — 
 
 " "Where a bright damsel train attends the guests 
 With liquid odours and embroider'd vests ; 
 Refreshed they wait them to the bower of state, 
 Where circled with his peers Atrides sate." ' 
 
 At a later period perfumes were not only used for 
 ablutions prior to the entertainment, but were also 
 brought in, during the feast, in alabaster or gold bottles, 
 with flower garlands to crown the guests. 8 Philoxenus, 
 in his play called " The Banquet," says — 
 
 "And then the slaves brought water for the hands, 
 And soap 3 well mix'd with oily juice of lilies, 
 And pour'd o'er the hands as much warm water 
 As the guest wish'd. And then they gave them towels 
 Of finest linen, beautifully wrought, 
 And fragrant ointments of ambrosial smell, 
 And garlands of the flow'ring violet." 
 
 Xenophanes gives a still more ample description of a 
 Grecian entertainment : — 
 
 "The ground is swept, and the triclinium clear, 
 The hands are puri6ed, the goblets, too. 
 Well rinsed ; each guest upon his forehead bears 
 A wreath'd flow'ry crown ; from slender vase 
 A willing youth presents to each in turn 
 A sweet and costly perfume ; while the bowl, 
 Emblem of joy and social mirth, stands by, 
 FiU'd to the brim ; another pours out wine 
 01' most delicious flavour, breathing round 
 Fragrance of flowers, and honey newly made, 
 So grateful to the sense, that none refuse ; 
 While odoriferous gums till all the room. 
 
 1 Odyssey, iv. a Athenaeus, Dcipuos., b. xv., c. 36. 
 
 3 Although the original Greek word oi±riy pa \amtgmi) is usually trans- 
 lated "soap," I believe it only meant a kind of scented clay, still used in 
 the East, for the Greeks were unacquainted with soap. 
 
 t 
 
 sJsj 
 
 II 
 
 M^ 
 

 W 
 
 THi: QBXEKS. 
 
 Water is served, too, Cold, and fresh, and i liar , 
 Bnad, saffron tinged, that looks 1 i U • l» ami of gold. 
 The board is gaily spread with honey pure 
 Ami savoury cheese. Tin- altar, too, which Stands 
 Full in the centre, crown'd with Bow'ry wreaths; 
 The house resounds with mode and with song." 
 
 Although the preceding details indicate a high state 
 of luxury in Grecian entertainments, sonic voluptuaries 
 were not even satisfied with those means of enjoyment, 
 but sought to increase them by resorting to all sorts 
 of ingenious devices, such as that mentioned in the 
 "Settler of Alexis": — 
 
 •• Nor fell 
 His perfumes from a bos of alali aster j 
 That we' Hi. 'j, and had savour'd 
 
 0' the elder time — but ever and anon 
 Heslipp'd four doves, whose wings were saturate 
 With scents, all different in kind — each bird 
 Bearing its own appropriate s«, , its— these doves 
 Wheeling in circles round, let fall upon us 
 A shower of sweet perfumery, drenching, bathing 
 Both clothes and furniture, and lordlings all. 
 I deprecate your envy when I add 
 That on myself fell Hoods of violet odours." 
 
 This mode of using perfumes during their banquets 
 was not only adopted on account of the pleasure they 
 created, but because a beneficial effect was ascribed to 
 them, especially when rubbed on the head : — 
 
 " The best recipe for health >jf J 
 
 Is to apply sweet scents unto the brain." 
 
 Anacreon also recommends the breast to be anointed 
 with unguents, as being the seat of the heart, and con- 
 sidering it an admitted point that it was soothed by 
 
 fragrant smells. Another virtue the Greeks attributed 
 
 to perfumes, and nut the least in the sight of the 
 
 t?*. 
 
w 
 
 ^ 
 
 Epicureans, was, that it enabled them to drink more 
 wine without feeling any ill effects from it. This be- 
 lief, however justified it might have been, is alluded to 
 by many authors. The most refined votaries of Bac- 
 chus were not satisfied with the external use of aro- 
 matics : they also applied them to improve the taste of 
 their wine. Some of these were prepared with odorous 
 resins, such as the myrrhine, which was flavoured with 
 myrrh ; others had simple honey or fragrant flowers 
 infused in them. 
 
 If scents were in favour with the wealthy and luxu- 
 rious Athenians, they were not so with the philosophers, 
 who condemned their use as effeminate. Xenophon 
 relates that Socrates, being once entertained by Callias, 
 was offered some perfumes, but he declined them, saying 
 they were only fit for women, and that -for men he 
 preferred the smell of the oil used in the gymnasia. 
 "For," added he, "if a slave and a freeman be anointed 
 with perfumes, they both smell alike ; but the smell 
 derived from free labours and manly exercise ought to 
 be the characteristic of the freeman." I am bound to 
 add, as a faithful historian, even at the risk of damaging 
 Socrates in the eyes of my fair readers, that he equally 
 disapproved of baths, considering cleanliness no essen- 
 tial part of wisdom. 
 
 Although the elaborate Egyptian system of bathing 
 had been parti}- adopted by the Greeks, they never 
 gave it that development which it acquired afterwards 
 with the Romans. They were generally satisfied with 
 more limited ablutions, performed in a marble basin 
 
 h^Jt^S S^.MMr^ 
 
-' 
 
 situated in some public place, whilst the ladies attended 
 
 at homo to the duties of the toilet. The engravings 
 given hen are taken from antique sculptures, or from 
 specimens in the British Museum. 
 
 Perfumes, as I have said before, were generally sup- 
 posed to possess medicinal properties, and the reeipes of 
 the most celebrated essences and cosmetics were in- 
 scribed on marble tablets both in the temples of Escula- 
 pius and of Venus. The priestesses of various deities suc- 
 ceeded the ancient magicians, and dispensed their pre- 
 parations, which were supposed to be endowed witli par- 
 
 Public Washirii' Hj3in. 
 
 Ladies' 1 
 
 tictilar virtues, and competed successfully for a long time 
 with the less divine productions of ordinary perfumers. 
 Milto, a fair young maiden, the daughter of an 
 humble artisan, was in the habit of depositing every 
 morning garlands of fresh flowers in the temple of 
 Venus, her poverty preventing her from indulging in 
 richer offerings. Her splendid beauty was once nearly 
 destroyed by a tumour which grew on her chin, hut 
 -lie saw in a dream the goddess, who told her to apply 
 to it some of the roses from her altar. She did so, and 
 recovered her charms so completely that she eventually 
 
 sat on the Persian throne as the favourite wife of Cyrus. 
 
 Since that time the reputation of the rose was esta- 
 blished as a flower no less beneficial than beautiful, and 
 
 
 IS 
 
it formed the basis of many lotions, both useful and 
 ornamental, for as Anacreon says — 
 
 " The rose distils a healing halm, 
 The heating pulse of pain to calm." 
 
 Even to the present day the queen of flowers has preserved 
 
 tea 
 
 Greek Ladies at their Toilet. 
 
 its double fame, and is to be found equally on the shelves 
 of the apothecary and in the laboratory of the perfumer. 
 All the Grecian cosmetics, 
 however, were not so innocent 
 as the rose. The sedentary life 
 of women deprived them of a 
 great part of their natural fresh- 
 ness and beauty, and they sought 
 to repair their loss by artificial 
 means. They painted their face 
 with white lead, and their cheeks 
 and lips with vermilion or a root 
 called pcederos, which was similar to alkanet-root. This 
 
} 
 
 nn; SBBEKS. 
 
 was applied with the finger, or with a small brush, as 
 represented in the annexed engraving, taken from an 
 antique gem. They also used Egyptian kohl, for 
 darkening the eyebrows and eyelids, and various other 
 preparations for the complexion, which will be more 
 amply described in the next chapter, as they were 
 nearly all afterwards adopted by the Romans. 
 
 Hair dye was often employed by those who wished 
 to emulate old Eson's renovation without having re- 
 course to the boiling process. Lai's, who was as cele- 
 brated for her wit as for her beauty, having once 
 repulsed the sculptor 31 iron, who at the age of Seventy 
 fell desperately in Live with her, the discomfited suitor 
 attributed bis rejection to his white locks ; he therefore 
 bad them dyed of a splendid black colour, and returned 
 the next day hoping for better success. But he was 
 doomed to disappointment, for Lais replied, laughing, 
 to his demands, " Kow can I grant thee to-day what I 
 refused to thy father yesterday?" 
 
 From the earliest times perfumes were used by the 
 
 (■rocks in their funeral rites. Homer represents Achilles 
 
 with his attendants paying thus the last honours to his 
 
 friend Patroclus : — 
 
 "The body then they bathe with predion! li.il, 
 I il.ilm the wounds, anoint the limba with oil." 1 
 
 Even to an enemy it was considered a duty to pay this 
 
 last tribute; and we find Achilles having the body of 
 
 Sector anointed and perfumed before lie returns it t(. 
 
 Priam. 1 
 
 1 Hi.id, \iii. = Mad, \\h. 
 
 \ 
 
 
 *\ 
 
 ar\? 9 
 
92 
 
 THE BOOK OK PERIL. ME> 
 
 Funereal Urns. 
 
 A pile was usually raised to burn the bodies of the 
 dead, and the friends of the deceased stood by during 
 ^Bpr YT * ne operation, throwing 
 
 J I Will incense on the fire, and 
 
 ^=-, ^Sifcl^ pouring libations of 
 
 wine. The bones and 
 ashes were afterwards 
 collected, washed with 
 wine, and, after mix- 
 ing them with precious 
 ointments, inclosed in 
 funereal urns, such as 
 the annexed specimens 
 taken from the British Museum. Agamemnon is de- 
 scribed by Homer in the "Odyssey," informing Achilles 
 how this ceremony had been performed upon him : — 
 
 " But when the flames your body had consumed, 
 With oils and odours we your bones perfumed, 
 
 And wash'd with unmix'd wine." l . 
 
 It was also customary to strew fragrant flowers and 
 shed sweet perfumes over the tombs of the dead ; and 
 Alexander is said to have paid this mark of respect to 
 Achilles, whose monument he anointed and crowned 
 with garlands when he visited Troy. 
 
 Perfumes were thought such an essential part of 
 
 funeral ceremonies that scent-bottles were painted on 
 
 the coffins of the poorer class of people as a sort of empty 
 
 consolation for the absence of the genuine article. 2 
 
 Anacreon, as a true voluptuary, preferred enjoying 
 
 1 Odyssey, xxiv. 2 Aristophanes, Eccles. 
 
 BHfe. 
 
 \d 
 
perfumes and flowers in his lifetime to having them 
 
 offered to his manes after his death. He exclaims in 
 
 one of his odes — 
 
 " Why do we shed the rose's bloom 
 Upon the eohl insensate tomb? 
 Can flowery hreeze or odour's breath 
 Ail> i ! tin- slumbering chill of death ? 
 No, no ; I ask no balm to steep 
 With fragrant tears my bed of sleep; 
 But now while every pulse is glowing, 
 Now let me breathe the balsam fkra 
 Now let tin rose, with blush of fire, 
 U^on my brow its scent expire." ' 
 
 The cares and duties of the toilctle were deemed of 
 such importance that a tribunal was instituted at Athens 
 to decide on all matters of dress, and a woman whose 
 pep/on, or mantle, was not of correct cut, or whose 
 head-dress was neglected, was liable to a fine, which 
 varied according to the gravity of the oifence, and 
 sometimes reached the high sum of a thousand 
 drachmas. I must say, however, that Grecian ladies 
 do not seem to have required such a law to make them 
 study their personal appearance ; their own coquetry 
 acted, no doubt, as a still more powerful stimulant, 
 and the antique specimens we have left would tend to 
 show that they possessed excellent taste, especially in 
 their modes of dressing the hair. 
 
 In ancient times the hair of both sexes was rolled up 
 into a kind of knot on the crown of the head, which 
 mode was called /crobylos for the men, and horymbos for 
 tlic women. The greatest luxury of the latter at that 
 
 1 Anaereon. Ode \txii. 
 
 IB \> 
 
THK BOOK Of PEKFl MES. 
 
 period was to ornament that knot with a golden clasp 
 in the shape of a grasshopper. This simple ornament 
 was however discarded in later times, and many diffe- 
 rent fashions were adopted, among which the most pre- 
 
 
 Mitra Bead-dresses. 
 
 valent were the Iiekryphalos, the sakkos, and the mitra. 
 The first was a caul of network, which we have already 
 found among the Jews, and which we shall find again 
 in many other epochs and nations; a fact which, by- 
 the-bye, somewhat impairs its claims to novelty put 
 forth a verv short time since. The sakkos was a close 
 
 Fakkos Head-dress. Korjmbos Head-dress. 
 
 hag, made generally of silk or wool; and the mitra, 
 which was of Asiatic origin, was a band of cloth dyed 
 of the richest colours and bound in various ways round 
 the head. There were many other modes of wearing 
 the hair, such as the strophos, the nimbo, the hredemnon, 
 the tholia, etc., of which the annexed illustrations will 
 
 % 
 
 «s 
 
Hi; (.KF.KKS. 
 
 96 
 
 convey a better idea than a written description, and my ^ ($, 
 fair readers will no doubt find among them some which 
 
 ^^^^W 
 
 Strophos Head-dressGs. 
 
 would be almost a la mode in a drawing-room of the 
 present day. 
 
 The men used to cut off their hair when thev attained 
 
 Kimbo Head-dresses. 
 
 the age of puberty, and dedicate it to some deity. The- 
 seus is said to have repaired to Delphi to perform this 
 
 rr% 
 
l'HK BOOK OF l'EKFl Ml>. 
 
 S 
 
 4 
 
 After this they allowed their hair to grow long again, 
 and only cut it off as a sign of mourning. Thus, at 
 the funeral of Patroclus, the friends of Achilles cut off 
 their hair, and 
 
 "O'er the corse their scatter' c] locks they threw." ' 
 
 In some parts of Greece, however, where it was cus- 
 tomary to wear the hair short, they allowed it to grow 
 long when in mourning — 
 
 " Neglected hair shall now luxurious grow, 
 And by its length their hitter passion show." 2 
 
 Another striking proof that external marks of grief are 
 only matters of convention, and that the white garb of 
 the Chinese mourner may be coupled with as much 
 real sorrow as our sable habiliments. 
 
 ; ^v 
 
 X 
 
 1 Iliad, xxiii. 
 
 : Cassandr. 973. 
 

Discite, qua; faciem commendet oura, paella, 
 
 Et quo ^it robis forma taenda modo. Ovid. 
 
 Its inhabitants, 
 constantly at war 
 with their neigh- 
 l)ours, cared nol for the arte of peace ; and their unshorn 
 locks and Bhaggy beards were more calculated to strike 
 terror into their enemies than to captivate the eyes <>f 
 the fair box. The only perfume they indulged in at 
 that time was perhaps a bunch of verbena or other 
 fragrant plant, which they plucked in the field 
 
 
THE BOOK OF PEKFUMJE8. 
 
 hung over their door to keep away the evil eye, il maloc- 
 cliio, still so dreaded by their modem descendants. Even 
 their gods did not then fare much better, and the sacri- 
 fices offered to them were, as Ovid says, of the plainest 
 description: 1 
 
 '• In former times the gods were cheaply pleased, 
 A Hale corn and salt their wrath appeased, 
 Ere stranger ships hail brought from distant shores 
 Of spicy trees the aromatic stores ; 
 From India or Euphrates had not come 
 The fragrant incense or the costly gum: 
 The simple savin on the altars smoked, 
 A laurel sprig the easy gods invoked, 
 And rich was he whose votive wreath pnssess'd 
 The lovely violet with sweet wild flowers dress'd." 
 
 As, however, the Romans extended their conquests 
 towards the provinces of Southern Italy colonized by 
 the Greeks, which had received the name of Magna 
 GrsBcia, they gradually adopted the manners of the 
 countries they had vanquished, and became initiated in 
 all the refinements of luxury. They imitated, likewise, 
 their religious ceremonies ; and in the va- 
 rious implements and paintings found at 
 Herculanemn and Pompeii, the Grecian 
 origin is easily discernible. To describe 
 the Roman modes of worship would, there- 
 fore, be a repetition of the last chapter : 
 we should find precisely the same things 
 under different names. Thus the incense 
 casket used for sacrifices, and called by 
 the Greeks XifiavooTpfc (libaiiotrix), became the "acerra;" 
 
 f 
 
 [*& 
 
- .J**? 
 
 hAJ $ S 
 
 1HB Ko.maxs. 99 \V ' 
 
 
 ' «> i 
 
 
 the Ovri'ipiop {thytirion), or altar, was changed into "ara b 
 tuncrema ;" and the Ghreciaii Ov/iiarr/piop (thurmatirion) 
 became the Roman "turibulum." 
 The accompanying illustrations will give some idea 
 
 Incense Casket. 
 A ura.) 
 
 (Tunbulum). 
 
 of the usual forma of these various implements. The 
 
 incense caaket is taken from a basso-relievo b the 
 
 Capitol Mas, uui, the altars from 
 
 ancient paintings, and the o oser 
 
 in 'in an original in bronze found at 
 
 Pompeii. The chariot represented 
 
 on the next page was also discovered 
 
 in si nue exea vations, and was used 
 
 in the temples to carry incense to 
 
 the various altars. 
 
 Funeral rites are so much grafted 
 on religions ideas, thai we must 
 
 naturally expeet to find the same 
 
 n s e mblanc e between the Greek and 
 the Roman ceremonies. In the early 
 
 times n t' Koine, the dead were buried; 
 
 but when Greek manners were adopted, they were 
 
 burnt in the way already described, and the bonM 
 
 Roman Altar. 
 
 
 
ra 
 
 m 
 
 gathered in a funereal urn, with perfumes more or less 
 costly, according to the fortune of the deceased, or the 
 extent of gratitude of his heirs. Rich people usually 
 had sepulchral chambers built, like the one represented 
 here, where they placed the 
 
 funereal urns of all mem- 
 bers of their family. 
 
 Although in private life 
 Greek customs were like- 
 wise imitated, those of the 
 Romans assumed peculiar 
 features which it may be 
 
 Sepulchral Chamber. 
 
 interesting to study. A Sicilian named Ticinus Menas, in 
 the year 454, brought into Rome the mode of shaving the 
 board, and sent to his country for a troop of clever bar- 
 bers, who established their shops under the porticos of 
 Minucius, near the temple of Hercules. Scipio Africanus 
 and the elite of the patricians adopted the new fashion, 
 and in a short time smooth chins, and hair redolent 
 with ointments, became the rage, beards being left to 
 slaves and common people. 
 
 The use of perfumes in Rome may be dated from 
 that period, and be- 
 came soon so pre- « 
 
 Incense Chariot. 
 
 umvirs, and having taken refuge at Salernum, was 
 betrayed in his hiding-place by the smell of his un- 
 guents, and put to death. After the defeat of Antiochus 
 
 y 
 
 & 
 
THE ROM INS 
 
 m 
 
 and the conquest of Asia, the abuse became still greater; 
 and in the year 565, wishing to put a Btop to it, the 
 consuls, [acinus Grassus ami Julius Cesar, published a 
 law forbidding the sale of "exotics," meaning thereby 
 all sorts of perfumes which then came from abroad. 
 '1'his edict, however, was no better observed than Solon's 
 had been at Athens, and did not in any way diminish 
 the consumption of aromatics, which reached it> greatest 
 height under the reign of the emperors. 
 
 Among the latter, Otho was one oi' the most ardent 
 votaries of the perfumer's art, for Suetonius 1 tells us 
 that, even when going on a military Campaign, lie 
 carried with him a complete arsenal of essences and 
 
 cosmetics to adorn his person and preserve his com- 
 plexion. Juvenal, in one of his satires, thus ridicules 
 him for his effeminacy : — 
 
 "Oh! noble subject for Den annals tit, 
 In musty Fame's report unmentioned yet, 
 A looking-glass most lo.nl tir Imperial car, 
 The most important carriage of tin-- war; 
 Galba to kill he thought a general's port ; 
 But as a courtii r nsed the nioi it art 
 To keep his akin from tan ; before the fight 
 Would paint and sei hi- Boil'd complexion right." J 
 
 Caligula spent enormous sums tin- perfumes, and 
 plunged his body, enervated by excesses, in odoriferous 
 
 baths. 3 Nero was also a great admirer of bw< el scents ; 
 atid at 1'oppaa's funeral he consumed more incense than 
 Arabia could produce in ten years. In his golden 
 palace tin- dining-rooms were lined with movable ivory 
 
 
 W> 
 
 Sucton., b. wit. 
 
 •iiiu oal, Sat i. 
 
 » Su.t.. b. iv. 
 
 .\ 
 
4 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 plates, concealing silver pipes, which were made to throw 
 on the guests a sweet rain of odoriferous essences. 1 
 
 The Romans had borrowed from the Egyptians the 
 use of the public bath, to which they resorted almost 
 daily — a very necessary measure to insure health and 
 cleanliness, when we consider that they wore neither 
 linen nor stockings. Their baths, or thcrmw, were very 
 
 ^^ 
 
 t 
 
 
 | HYFO \M CAUS U'J I T 
 
 Poman Baths. 
 
 magnificent buildings, as we may judge from the ruins 
 still extant. The principal establishments of that kind 
 had been built at various times by the Emperors, and 
 bore their names. The largest were those of Agrippa, 
 Nero, Titus, Domitian, Antoninus, Caracalla, and Dio- 
 cletian. Tiny were open to the public at first on the 
 payment of a quadrant, or a little less than a farthing of 
 our money. Agrippa bequeathed his garden and baths 
 ' Suet., b. vi. 
 
 %M 
 
 
 m m 
 
to the Roman people, and assigned particular estates to 
 tin ir support, that they migh1 enjoy them gratuitously. 
 The plan of those baths was so well devised that it 
 deserves a particular description. On entering them, 
 the bathers first proceeded to undress, and gave their 
 clothes to guard to persons called eapsirii, who were 
 hired for the purpose. They went then into the 
 unetuarium, or eleoihesium — a room marked at t lie hack 
 of our engraving — where all the perfumes and oint- 
 ments were kept in large jars, making it somewhat 
 resemble a modern apothecary's simp. There they re- 
 ceived a preliminary unction of cheap oils, and next 
 proceeded to the J'ritjitlitriiiui, or cold hath, where they 
 went through the first course of ablution. Thehcethey 
 passed into the tcpidariam, or tepid hath, and alter that 
 they entered the caldarium, or hot bath, where 
 the temperature was maintained at a high de- 
 gree by means of a furnace placed underneath, 
 called hypocauslniii. There, whilst undergoing 
 profuse perspiration, they scruhhed their 
 skin with a sort of bronze curry-comb called 
 ttngil — somewhat in the same fashion as mo- 
 dern grooms treat their horses — and dropped 
 on their body at the same time a little scented 
 oil out of u small hot tie named ampulla. Those 
 who could afford it had this operation performed upon 
 them by the hath att aidants, called alipte*, or by their 
 
 OWS sla\es, whom they brought with them tor that 
 
 purpose. 
 
 There is ;i stmy told of the Emperor Hadrian, who, 
 
 ! trigil and 
 Ampulla. 
 
 

 y> 
 
 <n 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 one day bathing with the common people, and seeing an 
 old soldier, whom he had known among the Roman 
 troops, rubbing his back against the marble wall, asked 
 him why he did so. The veteran answered that he had 
 no slave to attend on him. TThereupon the Emperor 
 presented him with two slaves and enough money to 
 maintain them. A few days afterwards, two old men, 
 enticed by the good fortune of the veteran, began to rub 
 
 Tepidarium at Pompe-.i. 
 
 themselves also against the wall, in the hope of attract- 
 ing the Emperor's attention ; whereupon Hadrian, per- 
 ceiving their drift, told them that if they had no slaves 
 they had better rub their backs against each other. 
 
 The accompanying engraving represents the fepida- 
 rium of the baths at Pompeii, with the three bronze 
 benches on the sides, and the stone at the end. such as 
 they were actually found. The compartments above 
 were probably used to keep unguents and perfumes, and 
 
 £» 
 
THE BOM \N S - 
 
 it is supposed that, as these Laths were of small dimen- 
 sions, this rooTii was also used as an ckotliesium lor (he 
 rubbing and anointing process. 
 
 There are no modern buildings which can convey an 
 idea of the extent and magnificence of these Roman 
 
 
 
 PLAN OB CABACALLA'S BATHS. 
 
 A Colonnade facing the street. 
 
 B Pi [i iu bath rooms. 
 
 c Prineipal ■ utr.inces. 
 
 1) Internal oorridora. 
 
 K Seals for bathers. 
 
 r" Sain. ins for conversation. 
 
 i walks. 
 II iiiriilinm, or amphithi ■aire. 
 
 I Water reservoir. 
 
 n Bwrmmbig bath. 
 
 O Calittirittm, or lint-water hath. 
 
 I' La eom tt tun, or vapour bath. 
 
 Q Suppl* 
 
 B Covered balls. 
 
 8 Cold-water bath. 
 
 T Room for sweet unctions. 
 
 I" OooUlM room. 
 
 i, -'. I. I Private rooms. 
 5, 6 Ltibra, or public basins. 
 
 Thermce, which were aol only devoted to the purposes 
 of bathing, but also comprised saloons for conversation 
 
 
106 
 
 THE BOOK OF PEBFUMES. 
 
 or discussion, galleries of pictures and sculpture, libra- 
 ries, walks planted with shady trees, porticos for gym- 
 nastic exercises, and, in fine, all that could contribute 
 to the material and intellectual pleasure of a rich and 
 luxurious people. The largest were those of Caracalla, 
 situated near Mount Avcntine, which measured about 
 675 yards in length, by 540 in width. They contained 
 1,000 seats of polished marble, and accommodation for 
 no less than 2,300 bathers. On one side stood the 
 temples of Apollo and Esculapius, the protectors of 
 health ; and, on the other, those of Hercules and Bac- 
 chus, tutelary gods of the Antoninus family. They 
 are still in a sufficient state of preservation to have 
 enabled Fardini, the learned Italian architect, to make 
 a plan of them, the foregoing copy of which may not 
 prove uninteresting to my readers. 
 
 Although in all the baths there was a part set aside 
 for ladies, it was not so generally 
 frequented as that used by the 
 men, and the rich patrician ma- 
 trons preferred attending to the 
 duties of the toilet in their own 
 houses. Indeed, this was no small 
 matter for them, and with many 
 it was the sole occupation ; hence 
 the various implements apper- 
 taining to the toilet were styled 
 mtnidus maliebris, or a woman's 
 world. 
 Surrounded by a crowd of young slaves (called cosmcta) 
 
 Tire Wonian. 
 (Ornatrix.) 
 
 '-■■4r fy&k 
 
N ;v, 
 
 THE KoM INS. 
 
 107 
 
 * 
 
 
 belonging to various nations, from the dark Nubian 1" 
 the fair Gaul, who had each their 
 particular department, and were 
 marshalled by the ornatrix, or 
 grand mistress of the toilet, the 
 
 Roman lady sat in stale, and 
 
 made all tremble around her. 
 
 Woe 1"' to the unfortunate maid 
 
 whose awkward fingers had not 
 
 given a sufficiently graceful turn 
 
 to her mistress's lucks, or had 
 
 not applied the paint to her 
 
 cheek in its proper place. A 
 
 pinch on the arm, a prick of a 
 
 pin, or a heavy metal mirror hurled at her head, soon 
 
 apprised her of the lady's displeasure. Juvenal, the 
 
 bitter satirist of Roman manners, thus describes one 
 
 of these scenes : — 
 
 "She hurries all her handmaids to the task . 
 Her head alone will twenty dressers task ; 
 Pseoaa, the ehiet with neck and ahonldi rs hare. 
 Trembling, conridi rsen tj aacred hair. 
 If any straggler from his rank be bond, 
 A pineh must foi the mortal sin compound. 
 
 PSOCU is not in fault ; but, in the . I 
 The dame's offended at her own ill I 
 The maid is baniah'd, ami anothi r girl, 
 More dexfrous, manages to comb and mrl . 
 The real are smnmon'd on a point -■ nioe, 
 And first the grave old w. .111:111 girt* adtice; 
 The next is e.illM, and ao the turn goes round, 
 As each for age or wisdom is ranown'd. 
 Buch eonna I, 1 ne tbej t .k. . 
 
 Aa if hiT lit'- nd bonoai lag al staki , 
 
 ^ 
 
WF^ 
 
 THE BOOK ()!•' PERFUMES. 
 
 Roman Comb. 
 
 With curls on curls they build ber bead before, 
 And mount it with a formidable tow'r : 
 A giantess she seems, but look behind, 
 And then she dwindles to the pigmy kind." 
 
 There were three kinds of perfumes principally used 
 by the Romans — the hedysmata, or solid unguents ; the 
 stymmata, or liquid ungu- 
 ents, having an oily basis ; 
 and the diapasmata, or pow- 
 dered perfumes. The un- 
 guents formed a numerous 
 class, and their names were 
 borrowed, some from the ingredients which entered into 
 their composition, some from the original place of their 
 production, and others, again, from the peculiar circum- 
 stances under which they were first made. Like our 
 present preparations, they succeeded each other in public 
 favour, and novelty was as great an attraction to the 
 Roman belles as it is to our own modern ladies. There 
 were the simple unguents, 
 flavoured with one aroma, 
 such as the rhodium, made 
 from roses ; the melinum, from 
 quince blossoms ; the nicto- 
 •pium, from bitter almonds; 
 the nareissinum, from narcissus flowers ; the malobatttrum, 
 prepared from a tree called so by Pliny, and supposed by 
 some to be the /aunts cassia; and many others too nume- 
 rous to mention. The compound unguents were pre- 
 pared by combining several ingredients. The most 
 celebrated were the susinuni, a fluid unguent, made of 
 
 Roman Mirrors 
 
 ?'; 
 
 s^a 
 
 ■'■- 
 
THE KOMANS. 
 
 Bliee, oil of ben, calamus, honey, cinnamon, sail'nm, and 
 myrrh ; the nardinum, made of oil of ben, sweet rush, 
 ooatus, spikenard, amomum, myrrh, and balm; and, 
 above all. Pliny praises the regal unguent, which was 
 originally prepared for the king of tbc Partisans, and 
 which consisted of no less than twenty-seven ingre- 
 dients. 1 Borne of these preparations were very costly, 
 and Bold for as much as lour hundred denarii per pound, 
 OZ about £14. The Romans not only applied them to 
 the hair, but to the whole of the body, even to the soles 
 of their feet. The most refined, indeed, adopted, as did 
 the Grecian epicures, a different perfume for each part 
 of their person Besides this, their baths, their cloths, 
 their beds, the walls of their houses, and even their 
 military Bags, were impregnated with sweet odours. 
 Bome carried this taste so far as to rub their horses and 
 dogs with scented ointment. 
 
 Saffron was one of the perfumes most in favour with 
 the Romans. They not only had their apartments and 
 banqueting-halls strewed with this plant, but they also 
 composed with it unguents and essences which wee 
 highly prized. Some of the latter were often made to flow 
 in small streams at their entertainments, or to descend in 
 odorous dews over the public from the relarium forming 
 the roof of the amphitheatre. Lucan, in his "Pharsa- 
 lia."-' describing how the blood runs out of the veins of 
 a person bitten by a serpent, says that it spouts out in 
 the same manner as the SWeet-Smelling essence of saliion 
 issues from the limbs of a statue. 
 
 i Ilui;-> Ntt. Jli-., b. Liiichftp.2. ' 1 <"■"', I'l> i-'l., b. u. v. 809. 
 
 i 
 
 jp\, 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 Perfumes were usually inclosed in bottles (uiigiicitf- 
 aria > made of alabaster, onyx, or glass, of the shapes 
 copied below from specimens in the Naples Museum. 
 When required for the bath, they were carried 
 in a round ivory box, called narthecium, like 
 this engraving, copied from one found at 
 Pompeii. Common perfumes were sold in 
 little gilt shells, 1 or vessels, made of clay. 
 The Roman perfumers (called unguenlarii) 
 (. artheaua.) ^^g Ycr y numerous, and occupied a part of 
 the town named ricus thuraricus in the Velabrum. The 
 most celebrated in Martial's time was Cosmus, whom he 
 frequently mentions in his Epigrams. 2 In Capua, a city 
 
 & 
 
 F.oatan rerfurce Bottles (Ucgueutaria). 
 
 noted for its luxury, the perfume vendors occupied a 
 whole street of the town, called Seplasia. They ex- 
 tracted some of their essences from flowers grown in 
 Italy, but most of their ingredients were imported from 
 Egypt and Arabia ; and some of them were so costly, 
 that the slaves who worked in their laboratories were 
 stripped before they went home, to see that they had 
 none concealed about them. 
 
 1 Martial, b. 3. lnxii ' Ibid., b. 1, Ixxxrfi. ; b. 3, lv. 
 
 T^- 
 
 ^ 
 

 Till'. ROMANS 
 
 Tho custom of using perfumes in the triclinium, or 
 
 diiiiii'r-njoiii, IkkI been <3 
 transmitted by the Greeks ■ a fw 
 to the Romans ; Mini the 
 latter carried it, perhaps, 
 to a still greater extent, 
 I'm- no banquet was con- 
 sidered complete Without 
 them, and they formed an 
 indispensable item in the 
 ••bill of fare." Catullus, 
 1 when inviting Fabullus to 
 
 Supper, after enumerating 
 
 store for him, adds — 
 
 " And I cuii _■ CO rare 
 
 That Lores and Graces gave my fair; 
 
 So sweet its odour Bowa, 
 Thou'lt pray the gods ' May touch an I 
 Be quite in smell alone effaced, 
 
 Aud I become all nose.' " 
 
 Martial does not appear tu have enjoyed the happy 
 state preconised by < latullus, of being "all nose ; " For, in 
 
 one of his epigrams, he complains to his host for giving 
 
 him more perfumes than viands, thus reducing him to 
 
 the state of a living mummy : — 
 
 " Faith '■ your east di e w is • xcelling, 
 Hut you gars us nought to eat ; 
 Nothing tasting, ling, 
 
 I.-, Fabullua, w arce a treat 
 •• !.t in. see a fowl unjointi d 
 
 Whan your table next is spread . 
 Who is anointed, 
 
 1 w - lik. nothing but thi di 
 
The witty critic was evidently not one of Cosmus's best 
 customers, for he often ridicules the use of perfumes, 
 
 saying that 
 
 " lie that smells always well does never so." ' 
 And addressing Polla, an old coquette who sought by 
 artifice to conceal the ravages of time, he exclaims — 
 
 " Leave off thy paint, perfumes, and youthful dress, 
 And nature's failing honestly confess. 
 Double we see those faults which art would mend ; 
 Plain downright ugliness would less offend." 3 
 
 The following picture of a "bean" of the period shows 
 
 that ladies were not alone addicted to an extravagant 
 
 use of perfumes : — 
 
 "A beau is one who with the nicest care 
 In parted locks divides his curling hair; 
 One who with balm and cinnamon smells sweet, 
 Whose humming-lips some Spanish air repeat ; 
 'Whose naked arms are smoothed with pumice-stone, 
 And toss'd about with graces all his own." 3 
 
 In addition to the liquid essences and unguents, the 
 Romans made use of an immense variety of cosmetics 
 for improving and preserving the complexion. Pliny, 
 in his " Natural History," gives a description of these 
 preparations, some of which consisted of pea-flour, bar- 
 ley-meal, eggs, wine-lees, hartshorn, bulbs of narcissus, 
 and honey ; others simply of corn-flour, or crumb of 
 bread soaked in milk. They made with these pastes 
 a sort of poultice, which they kept on the face all night 
 and part of the day. Some, indeed, only removed them 
 for the purpose of going out, and Juvenal tells us, in 
 one of his satires, that a Roman husband of his time 
 
 SM 
 
 I 
 
 1 Martial, b. 1, xii. 
 
 Ibid., b. 3, xlii. 
 
 3 Ibid., b. 3, lxiii. 
 
 'S^'-'-, 1 
 
 d 
 
M 
 
 
 seldom sees his wife's I'are at home, hut when she sallies 
 
 forth— 
 
 ••'I'll' eclipse thin ranishee ; ami all her boa 
 1 and restored to ererj _ 
 
 The ornst rejnoTed, her cheeks u bi th as silk 
 
 Are polish'd with a wash ofaasea' milk ; 
 And should shi' to the farthest North be not, 
 A train "f tin-so attend her banishment." ' 
 
 The last lines allude to Poppaa, the wife of Xero, who 
 need to bathfl in asses' milk every day, and when she 
 was exiled from Rome, obtained permission to take with 
 her fifty asses to enable her to continue her favourite 
 ablutions. 
 
 Ovid, the poet of love, wrote a hook on cosmetics, 2 of 
 which, unfortunately, but a fragment came down to us. 
 I shall <jive one or two extracts from it, if only to 
 afford ladies who may be curious in these matters an 
 opportunity of testing the virtues of the recipes given 
 
 by the poet. 
 
 " Learn from me the art of imparting to your com- 
 plexion a dazzling whiteness, when your delicate limhs 
 shake oil' the trammels of sleep. Divesl from its husk 
 
 the barley brought by our vessels from the Libyan 
 
 ti.lds. Take two pounds of this barley with an equal 
 quantity of bean-Hour, and mix them with ten eggs. 
 When these ingredients hare been dried in the air, 
 have them ground, and add the sixth part of a pound 
 
 of hartshorn, of that which falls in the spring. Win n 
 the whole has been reduced to a fine flour, |(i- it 
 
 through a sieve, and complete the preparations with 
 
 twelve DarcisSUS bulbs pounded in a mortar, two ounces 
 
 1 Juvi n il. Bel : Mi i 
 
 
 i*. 
 

 ZKU, 
 
 in 
 
 THE HOOK OF PEKFfMES. 
 
 ;•••' 
 
 of (mm, as much of Tuscan seed, and eighteen ounces 
 of honor. Every woman who spreads this paste on her 
 face will render it smoother and more brilliant than 
 her mirror." 
 
 Another recipe he gives for removing blotches from 
 the complexion consists in a mixture of roasted lupines, 
 beans, white lead, red nitre, and orris-root, made into a 
 paste with Attic honey. 
 
 Frankincense he also recommends as an excellent 
 cosmetic, saying that if it is agreeable to gods, it is no 
 less useful to mortals. Mixed with nitre, fennel, myrrh, 
 rose-leaves, and sal ammoniac, he gives it as an excel- 
 lent preparation for toilet purposes. 
 
 Besides these, the Romans also used psilotrum, a sort 
 of depilatory, white lead or chalk for the face, fucus, a 
 kind of rouge for the cheeks, Egyptian kohl for the eyes, 
 barley-floor kneaded with fresh butter to cure pimples, 
 calcined pumice-stone to whiten the teeth, and various 
 sorts of hair dyes. Of the latter, the most curious 
 was a liquid for turning the hair 
 black, prepared from leeches 
 which had been left to putrefy 
 during sixty days in an earthen 
 vessel with wine and vinegar. 
 As, however, blondes were very 
 scarce among the Roman ladies, 
 the most fashionable dye was 
 Roman laay applying Tucus. one which changed their natu- 
 rally dark hair to a sandy or fair colour. This was 
 principally accomplished by means of a soap from 
 
 <rfM 
 
 
 
 fflr 
 
Tin: ROMANS. 
 
 Gaul or Germany, called sapo (from the old German 
 sepe), and composed of goafs fat and ashes. It is 
 rather remarkable that this was the first introduc- 
 tion of soap we find mentioned, ami that it was then 
 solely applied to the purpose of dyeing the hair. .Martial 
 designates this dye under the name of Mattiac balls, 1 
 because they came from Mattium. a town of Germany, 
 supposed to he Marpurg, ami sarcastically sends them 
 to an octogenarian, who is completely bald, to change 
 the colour of his hair. 
 
 There is no douht that some of these preparations 
 were very injurious to the hair; for Ovid, in one of his 
 elegies, 1 reproaches Ins mistress with having destroyed 
 
 her flowing locks by means of dyes. "Did I Hot tell 
 
 you to leave off dyeing your hair? Now you have no 
 
 hair left to dye. And yet nothing was handsomer than 
 your locks. They came down to your knees, and were 
 so tine that you were afraid to COmh them." Then he 
 adds, a little further, "Your own hand has been the 
 cause of the loss you deplore; you poured the poison 
 on your own head. Now Germany will send you slave's 
 hair; a vanquished nation will supply your ornament 
 How many times, when you hear people praising the 
 beauty of your hair, you will blush and Bay to yourself. 
 ' It is a bought ornament to which I owe my beauty, 
 and I know not what Bicamber virgin they are admiring 
 in me! And yet there was a time when I deserved all 
 these compliments.' " 
 
 Tn such cases, as will be seen from the preceding 
 
 '.. b. 1 I. wvii. | y, jJt, 
 
 
 
Nr^_^-^> 
 
 TIIK HOOK OK PERFUMES. 
 
 extract, false liair was resorted to; but baldness was 
 not always the excuse for wearing such an appendage. 
 The rage for blonde hair was so great at one time, that 
 when ladies did not succeed in imparting the desired 
 shade to their naturally raven tresses, they cut them 
 off, to replace them with flaxen wigs. This was pro- 
 bably what had been done by the lady referred to by 
 Martial : — 
 
 " The golden hair that Galla wears 
 
 Is hers : who would have thought it ? 
 She swears 'tis hers, and true she swears, 
 For I know where she bought it." 
 
 ^L'-- -* 
 
 m 
 
 em-.anr.ra. 
 
 That false hair was in fashion with ladies may be judged 
 from the fact that even busts like that of Julia Semi- 
 amira, mother of Hebogabalus, repre- 
 sented here, were made with wigs of a 
 different coloured marble, which could 
 be removed at pleasure. 
 
 Ladies were not, however, the only 
 ones who tampered with their locks. 
 The sterner sex did not disdain to practise this deceit; 
 and Martial, apostrophizing one of these chameleons in 
 human garb, a-ks him how it is that he who was a 
 '• .-wan before, has now become a crow." 
 
 The Roman matrons were not less expert and tastefid 
 than the Greek ladies in their modes of dressing the 
 hair ; but their coiffures, like their perfumes, were 
 principally borrowed from the latter. Thus we find 
 the Grecian stropfios adopted by the Romans under 
 the name of Ditto. This pretty head-dress, which 
 
m 
 
 I Si 
 
 THE BOHAKS. 117 
 
 has hrm lately revived unionist us, consisted oi' 
 simple bands wound round die Lair. Ii was con- 
 fined to young maids, and was strictly forbidden to 
 
 persons of bad character, who usually wore the mitru 
 Koman Head-dicsscs. 
 
 mentioned in the last chapter. The net was again pa- 
 tronised under the name oi reticulum ', and the only two 
 head-dresBes of strictly Roman creation were perhaps 
 the tutuhu and the nimbus, both of which 
 
 are represented here. Some simply wore a 
 long pin (acus), to hold the hair at the back 
 of the head. 
 
 When a man attained his majority and 
 assumed the toga, he shaved his beard and 
 offered it to some god. Nero presented his in a golden 
 bo\ gel with pearls to Jupiter Capitolinua Shaving 
 continued in fashion until tin' time of Emperor Hadrian, 
 
 who, to cover some excrescences on his chin, revived the 
 custom of letting the beard grow, which his courtiers 
 naturally hastened to adopt. How many modern 
 fashions can thus be traced to the caprice or con- 
 venience of some influential person ! 
 
 False hair was worn bv men a> well as 1>\ women . 
 
 i 
 
 R 
 
 
 t 3 *. 
 
HVs_ 
 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 and if we are to credit Suetonius, the Roman pcrruquicrs 
 had attained some proficiency in the art ; for he tells 
 us that Otho's wig was so cleverly made that it looked 
 perfectly natural. These appendages, however, were 
 very costly at that time, and a certain Phoebus, who 
 had probably more imagination than ready cash, and 
 could not afford to treat himself to an "invisible peruke," 
 had drawn on his bald pate imaginary locks by means 
 of a dark pomatum, whereupon Martial thus apostro- 
 phises him in his usual sarcastic style : — 
 

CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TlIK Oiurvi U ,8. 
 
 Know \r tin' land of the cedar and vino, 
 w i,,,, the Sowen Brer blossom, the beams ever shine; 
 Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume, 
 \\, 1X t'.uiii o'er the gardens of Qdl in her bloom! 
 
 i oitron and olive are fairest of fruit, 
 \,:,l the i ii« of the nightingale never is mute. 
 
 'Xis the din t (he East ; 'tis the land of the Bun. Bybok. 
 
 rxriMKS are only 
 sought and enjoyed 
 by people living in 
 a high state of re- 
 finement. When 
 the Roman Empire 
 of the Weal crum- 
 bled beneath the at- 
 tacks of a horde of 
 barbarians, who in- 
 vaded its fertile 
 plains and laid waste its magnifi- 
 cent cities, the arts of civilization, 
 which they were unable to appre- 
 ,.;.,,,,, ,,„,], refuge in the Eastern 
 metropolis where they had been 
 cultivated since the days of Con- 
 Among these arts perfumery was 
 
 /•,4L, 
 
 
 
 sa 
 
 
 
 - 
 

 g^fpe 
 
 .w\ 4 
 
 l~l» THE BOOK OF PERFVMES. 
 
 ranked, and the Greek emperors and their court showed 
 for aromaties a fondness at least equal to that which 
 had been displayed by their Western predecessors. 
 Having' at their command all the fragrant treasures 
 of the East, they made a lavish use of them in private 
 life, and in all public festivals perfumes were made to 
 play an important part. Xor were they confined to 
 profane purposes, for the Oriental Church had likewise 
 introduced them into all their religious ceremonies, and 
 their consumption was so large at one time that the 
 priests purchased in Syria a piece of ground ten square 
 miles in extent, and planted it with frankincense- trees 
 for their own special requirements. 
 
 After several centuries of glory and splendour, the 
 Eastern Empire, torn by religious dissensions, was 
 doomed in its turn to fall under the aggressions of its 
 enemies, and although it struggled many years against 
 the followers of Mahomet, the Crescent succeeded at 
 last in replacing the Cross on the proud domes of Con- 
 stantinople. In this instance, however, the conquerors 
 were nearly as polished as the vanquished. If their 
 religion, by forbidding them to delineate the form of 
 man in any way, had checked their progress in art, it 
 offered no impediment to the pursuit of science, and 
 they had already attained considerable proficiency in 
 many of its most important branches. To the Arabs, 
 indeed, we are indebted ibr many valuable discoveries 
 in the field of knowledge, and these children of the 
 desert may well be called the connecting link between 
 ancient and modern civilisation. 
 

 1 in: OKIES l u S. 
 
 1J1 
 
 Avicenna, an Arabian doctor who flourished in the 
 tenth century, was the first to study and apply tin 
 principles <>t' chemistry, which was but imperfectly 
 known to the ancients. This extraordinary man, who 
 in a wandering life of fifty-eight years found time to 
 write nearly one hundred volumes (twenty of which 
 were a General Encyclopaedia), is said to have invented 
 
 the art of extracting the aromatic or medicinal prin- 
 ciples of plants and flowers by means of distillation. 1 
 Perfumes bad for many years been known and used by 
 his countrymen, and long before Mahomet's time, Musa, 
 one of the chief cities in Arabia Felix, was a celebrated 
 emporium for frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatic 
 gums; but hitherto the far-famed "perfumes of Araby 
 the blest" had merely consisted in Scented resins and 
 
 spices. The floral world, so rich and fragrant in those 
 favoured climes, had not y.'t been made to yield its 
 sweet but evanescent treasures. To Avicenna belongs 
 the merit of saving their volatile aroma from destruc- 
 tion and rendering it permanent by means of distilla- 
 tion. 
 
 The Orientals always exhibited for the rose a par- 
 tiality almost equal to that of the nightingale, who is 
 said to dwell constantly ai Ig its sweet bowers. It 
 
 was, therefore, on that flower that Avicenna made his 
 first experiments, selecting tin- most fragrant of the 
 species, the Rosa c< nti/oHa, called by the Arabs, Qui 
 sad berk. 
 
 1 The word al-embic, which «M former!] Mad in England ami a -'ill 
 
 II- I in l'i ,': ■ in designate a aim, dearly ahowa its Arabian c>rii;iM. 
 
 ,-> 
 
 
m 
 
 J/ G 
 
 " The floweret of a hundred leaves, 
 Expanding while the dew-fall flows, 
 And every leaf its balm receives." ' 
 
 He succeeded by bis skilful operations in producing 
 the delicious liquid known as rose-water, the formula 
 for which is to be found in bis works and in those of 
 the succeeding Arabian writers on chemistry. It soon 
 came into general use, and appears to have been manu- 
 factured in large quantities, if we are to believe the 
 historians, who tell us that when Saladin entered Jeru- 
 salem in 1187, he had the floor and walls of Omar's 
 mosque entirely washed with it. 
 
 Rose-water is still held in high repute in the East, 
 and when a stranger enters a house the most grateful 
 token of ■welcome which can be offered to him is to 
 sprinkle him over with rose-water, which is done by 
 means of a vessel with a narrow spout, called gulabdan. 
 It is to this custom that Byron alludes in " The Bride 
 of Abydos," when he says — 
 
 " She snatched the urn wherein was mix'd 
 The Persian Atar-gul's perfume, 
 And sprinkled all its odours o'er 
 The pictured roof and marbled floor. 
 The drops that through his glitt'ring vest 
 The playful girl's appeal address' d, 
 Unheeded o'er his bosom flew, 
 As if that breast was marble too." 
 
 Niebuhr, in his " Description of Arabia," mentions 
 likewise this habit of throwing rose-water on visitors as 
 a mark of honour, and says it is somewhat amusing to 
 witness the discomfited and even angry looks with 
 which foreigners are wont to receive these unexpected 
 1 Moore's Lalla Rookh. 
 
 =8* 
 
 Ri 
 
?Mm^ 
 
 
 THE ORIEN I \l - 
 
 aspersions. The censer is also generally brought in 
 afterwards, and its fragrant smoke directed towards the 
 beards and garments of the visitors, this ceremony be- 
 ing considered as a gentle hint that it is time to bring 
 
 tin- visit to an end. 1 
 
 According to the same authority, Arabian censers arc 
 made of wood (probably lined with metal) and covered 
 with plaited cane, like the specimen represented here. 
 
 .Krabian Ccns- t 
 
 The gulabdan, or " casting bottle," as it was called in this 
 country two or three centuries back, is either of glass 01 
 earthenware in ordinary houses, but among rich people 
 both these implements are of gold or silver richly chased 
 or ornamented. The engraving on next page illustrates 
 this important feature in Oriental customs. The female 
 servant carrying the perfume-burner and sprinkling- 
 vase is taken from La Mot t rave's print of a Turkish 
 harem, and the man from a picture in the late Lord 
 Baltimore's collection representing the reception of a 
 French ambassador by the (irand Vizier. The per- 
 
 ' Niibuhr, Description do FAl 
 
 -■ iyy 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFl'MLS. 
 
 fumes used in the censer combine all the fragrant 
 woods and gums of the East, among which the aioe, 
 mentioned in Chapter III., stands prominent : 
 
 " The aloes-wood, from which no fragrance came, 
 If placed on fire, its inodorous state 
 Will change, more sweet than amhergris." l 
 
 Mahomet, who was a keen observer of human nature, 
 founded his religion on the enjoyment of all material 
 
 Turkish Servants bearing l'erfumes. 
 
 pleasures, well knowing that it was the best means of 
 securing the adhesion of his sensual countrymen. lie had 
 forbidden, it is true, the use of wine, but simply because he 
 feared the dangerous excesses to which it gave rise : the 
 indulgence in perfumes was one, on the contrary, he liked 
 to encourage, for they assisted in producing in his adepts 
 a state of religious ecstasy favourable to his cause. He 
 
 1 Sadl's Gulistan, chap. i. st. 18. 
 
 il 
 
 ^# 
 
THE OIMIA IMS. 
 
 125 
 
 <§8 
 
 professed himself a great fondness for them, Baying that 
 what his heart enjoyed most in this world were children, 
 women, and perfumes, and among the many delights 
 promised to the true believers in the Djennet Firdous, 
 or Garden of Paradise, perfumes formed a conspicuous 
 part, as will be seen from the following description, 
 taken from the Koran: — 
 
 When the day of judgment comes, all men will have 
 to cross a bridge called Al Sirat, which is liner than a 
 hair, and sharper than the edge of a Damascus blade. 
 This bridge is laid over the infernal regions, and how- 
 ever dangerous and difficult this transit may appear, 
 the righteous, upheld and guided by the prophet, will 
 easily accomplish it ; but the wicked, deprived of such 
 assistance, will slip and fall into the abyss below, which 
 is gaping to receive them. 
 
 After having passed this first stage, the "right-hand 
 men,'' as the Koran calls them, will refresh themselves 
 by drinking at the pond of Al Cawthar, the waters of 
 which are whiter than milk or silver, and more odori- 
 ferous than musk. They will find there as many drink- 
 ing-cups as there are stars in the firmament, and their 
 thirst will be quenched for ever. 
 
 They at last will penetrate into Paradise, which is 
 situated in tile seventh hea\en, under the throne of 
 ( led. The ground of this enchant ing place is composed 
 of pure wheaten flour mixed with musk and saffron ; its 
 stones are pearls and hyacinth-, and its palace- built of 
 gold and silver. In the centre stands the marvellous 
 tree called t "'■■!, which is so large that a man mounted 
 
^4Mii 'mate^S^Ag 
 
 T» 
 
 THE HOOK OK PERFUMES. 
 
 on the fleetest horse could not ride round its branches 
 in one hundred years. This tree not only affords the 
 most grateful shade over the whole extent of Paradise, 
 but its boughs are loaded with delicious fruit of a size 
 and taste unknown to mortals, and bend themselves at 
 the wish of the inhabitants of this happy abode. 
 
 As an abundance of water is one of the greatest 
 desiderata in the East, the Koran often speaks of the 
 rivers of Paradise as one of its chief ornaments. All 
 those rivers take their rise from the tree tuba : some 
 flow with water, some with milk, some with honey, and 
 others even with wine, this liquor not being forbidden 
 to the blessed. 
 
 Of all the attractions, however, of these realms of 
 bliss, none will equal their fair inhabitants — the black- 
 eyed houris 1 — who will welcome the brave to their 
 bowers, waving perfumed scarves before them, 2 and 
 repaying with smiles and blandishments all their toils 
 and fatigues. These beauteous nymphs will be per- 
 fection itself in every sense : they will not be created 
 of our own mortal clay, but of pure »u<sk. 
 
 I doubt very much if the prospect of inhabiting a 
 place with a soil of musk, peopled with ladies composed 
 of the same material, would prove a great allurement to 
 our Europeans, with their nervous tendencies ; the bare 
 notion of such a possibility woidd be sufficient to give a 
 
 1 "Houri" comes from the words hiir al oyoun, "the black-eyed." 
 2 " Waving enibroider'd scarves whose motion gave 
 Perfume forth, like those the Houris wave 
 When beckoning to their bowers the Immortal Brave." 
 
 Moore's l.nlla Rookh. 
 
 S 
 
 fc> 
 
 

 .- 
 
 headache to some of the more sensitive. But in the 
 East tastes an different ; and it is a singular fact thai 
 the warmer a country is, the greater is the taste for 
 Strang perfumes, although one would suppose that the 
 heat, developing to the utmost .such powerful aromas, 
 would render them actually unbearable. 
 
 As an instance of the fondness which the Orientals 
 exhibit for musk, Evlia Effendi relates that in Kara 
 Anicd, the capital of Diarbekr, there is a mosque called 
 Iparic, built by a merchant, and so called because there 
 were mixed with the mortar used in its construction 
 seventy juks of musk, which constantly perfume the 
 temple. The same author describes the mosque of Zo- 
 baide, at Tauris, as being constructed in a similar way : 
 and as musk is the most durable of all perfumes, tin 
 walls still continue giving out the most powerful scent, 
 especially when the rays of the sun strike upon them. 
 
 Many of Mahomet's prescriptions were of a sanitary 
 nature, and in order to insure their observance by his 
 superstitious followers, he gave them, like Moses, the 
 form of religious laws. Such were the ablutions and 
 purifications ordained by the Koran. 1 All true believers 
 are strictly enjoined to wash their heads, their hands as 
 far as the elbows, and their feet as far as the kin . -, be- 
 fore Baying their prayers ; and when water is not to be 
 procured, tine Band is to !»■ used as a substitute. 
 
 When the Turks settled themselves in the Greek 
 Empire, they did not rest satisfied with these limited 
 ablutions, but soon adopted the luxurious system of 
 
 ' K..r-n i s, 0. 
 
 -vV ififer ' 
 
THE HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 baths which they found already established in the con- 
 quered cities. These baths have been fully described 
 in the last chapter; they have, moreover, been lately 
 introduced into London ; and although what we are 
 offered is but a pale copy of the magnificence of the 
 palaces devoted to that purpose in the East, it might be 
 
 Turkish Bath 
 
 thought superfluous to dwell any longer on this subject. 
 The above illustration will suffice to convey an idea of 
 the style of these buildings. 
 
 Soap is sometimes used in these establishments, but 
 they more frequently employ a sort of saponaceous clay 
 scented with the sweetest odours, which is, no doubt, a 
 lineal descendant of that smegma mentioned in the Greek 
 chapter as being in great favour among the Athenians. 
 It is to that preparation that SadI, the celebrated Per- 
 
 mgt> ^ 
 
THE ORIENTALS. 
 
 12!) 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 sian poet, alludes in the following beautiful apologue, 
 whereby he illustrates the benefit of good society : — 
 
 "'Twai in the bath, a piece of perfumed clay 
 Came from my loved one's hand to mine, one daj 
 
 •Art tlimi, then, musk or ambergris?' I said , 
 
 ' That by thy scent my soul is ravished ? ' 
 
 'Not bo,' it answered, 'worthless earth was I, 
 
 But long I kept the rose's company ; 
 
 Thus near, its perfect fragrance to me 
 
 Eke I'm bat earth, the worthless and the same,'" 1 
 
 The rose, as I said before, is the favourite flower 
 of the Orientals. The beauty of its aspect and the 
 sweetness of its perfume are favourite themes for their 
 poets. The finest poem that ever was written in the 
 Persian language, the "Gulistan," from which the 
 above is extracted, means the garden of roses, and S&di, 
 its author, with the naive conceit of Eastern writers, 
 thus explains his motives for giving that name to his 
 work : — 
 
 "On the first day of the month of Urdabihisht (May), 
 T resolved with a friend to pass the aighi in my garden. 
 The ground was enamelled with flowers, the skv was 
 lighted with brilliant stars; the nightingale sting its 
 sweet melodies perched on the highest branches ; the 
 dew-drops hung on the rose like tents on the cheek of 
 an angry beauty ; the parterre was covered with hya- 
 cinths of a thousand hues, among which meandered a 
 Limpid stream. When morning came my friend gathered 
 roses, basilisks, and hyacinths, and placed them in the 
 folds of his garments ; but I said to him, 'Throw these 
 
 i BldTs OnlietSn, Pre) 
 
 
 
 vn 
 
 
 
 %\ 
 
 v 
 
 '-mm 
 

 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 away, for I am going to compose a Gulistan (garden of 
 roses), which will last for eternity, whilst your flowers 
 will live but a clay.' " 
 
 Ilafiz, another renowned Persian poet, was also a 
 groat admirer of flowers and perfumes, which arc con- 
 stantly recurring in his verses, and furnish him with the 
 most charming similes. Addressing his mistress in one 
 of his Guzels, he exclaims — 
 
 " Like the bloom of the rose, when fresh pluck'd and full blown, 
 Sweetly soft is thy nature and air : 
 Like the beautiful cypress in Paradise grown, 
 Thou art ev'ry way charming and fair. 
 
 " When my mind dwells on thee, what a lustre assume 
 All the objects which fancy presents ! 
 On my memory thy locks leave a grateful perfume, 
 Far more fragrant than jasmine's sweet scents." ' 
 
 Hafiz seems, like Anacreon, to have particularly wor- 
 shipped the rose ; and, as his Grecian predecessor, he 
 always couples in his odes the praise of wine with that 
 of the queen of flowers :— 
 
 " In the mirth-enliven'd bower, 
 Wine, convivial songsters, pour : 
 See the garden's flowery guest 
 Comes in happiness full dress'd ; 
 Joy round us sweet perfume throws. 
 Offspring of the blooming rose. 
 
 Hail ! sweet flower, thy blossom spread, 
 Here thy welcome fragrance shed ; 
 Let us witli our friends be gay, 
 Mindful of thy transient stay : 
 1'ass the goblet round ; who knows 
 When we lose the blooming rose? 
 
 Haflz, Gazel si. 
 

 THE OBIENTALS 131 
 
 Hafiz lorea, likr Philomel, 
 
 Willi the darling iw to dwell 
 Let liis heart a grateful lay 
 To her guardian ' humbly p 13 , 
 i' with homage close, 
 To the guardian of the rose." - 
 
 Thai perform - have been in ase in the East, to please 
 the living and honour the dead, since a very remote 
 
 period, we find a proof in the following story, extracted 
 from a Persian writer, relating the deatli of Yezdijird, 
 the last of the Kaiiinian race of kings, in the year 652. 
 That unfortunate monarch having fled from his do- 
 minions and taken refuge in the territory of Merv, its 
 inhabitants were anxious to apprehend and destroy him ; 
 
 they accordingly sent a message to Tanjtakh, king of 
 
 Tartary, offering to place themselves under his protec- 
 tion, and to deliver the fugitive into his hands. Tanj- 
 takh accepted their proposal and inarched against Merv 
 With a large army; hearing which. Yezdijird left the 
 caravanserai where he had alight* d. and wandered about 
 unattended in quest of a hiding-place. Heat last came 
 to a mill, where he begged for a eight's shelter. The 
 miller promised him that he should be unmolested ; but 
 
 his attendants having remarked that he was richly 
 clad, murdered him in his sleep, and divided the spoil 
 among themselves. 
 
 The next day Tanjtakh arrived at Merv, and caused 
 
 Yezdijird to be sought in every direction. Some of the 
 
 emissaries came to the mill, and having remarked that 
 
 one of the servants smelt strongly of perfume, they tore 
 
 ' Tin' ni'.'liti i Halls, Oaxel ii. 
 
qg< > ^ ■ , - 
 

 
 I HI-: ORIENTALS. 
 
 133 
 
 means. It is principally cultivated among ladies who, 
 caring little or nothing tor mental acquirements, and de- 
 barred from tlu' pleasures of society , are driven to resort 
 
 to Bach sensual enjoyments as their seeluded mode of life 
 will afford. They love to be in an atmosphere redolent 
 with fragrant odours that keep them in a state of 
 dreamy languor which is lor them the nearest approach 
 to happiness. The sole aim of their existence being to 
 please their lords and masters, the duties of the toilet 
 are their principal and favourite occupation. Many are 
 the cosmetics brought into request to enhance their 
 charms, and numerous are the slaves who lend their 
 assistance to perform that important task, s ■ correct- 
 ing with a whitening paste the over-warm tint of the 
 skin, some replacing with an artificial bloom the failed 
 roses of the complexion. 
 
 '• "Wliile some bring leaves of henna, to imbue 
 
 't'hc tiiiL-ii-' i nil- with a bri'.'l I 
 
 S" bright that in the mirror's depth thej Beetn 
 
 Like tips of coral branches in the »tri un ; 
 
 And others mix the kohol'e jettj dye 
 
 To give that long dark languish to the eye 
 
 Which makes the maid- whom longs are proud to cull 
 
 Fr"in fair Cireassia's Tall I 80 beautiful." ' 
 
 Although, according to our European notions, red- 
 tipped fingers and darkened eyelids are not calculated 
 
 to increase female loveliness, this may be looked upon 
 as a mere conventional matter, and it may be fairly 
 presumed that the constant can- which tlie Eastern 
 ladies bestow on themselves have the effect of increas- 
 
 1 Moore's I.alla Rookh. 
 
 
 
 
ing and preserving their beauty. This is confirmed 
 by most travellers, and, among others, Sonnini in his 
 Travels in Egypt thus expresses himself on that 
 subject : — 
 
 "There is no part of the world where the women 
 pay a more rigid attention to cleanliness than in those 
 Oriental countries. The frequent use of the bath, of 
 perfumes, and of everything tending to soften and 
 beautify the skin and to preserve all their charms, em- 
 ploys their constant attention. Nothing, in short, is 
 neglected, and the most minute details succeed each 
 other with scrupulous exactness. So much care is not 
 thrown away ; nowhere are the women more uniformly 
 beautiful, nowhere do they possess more the talent of 
 assisting natnre, nowhere, in a word, are they better 
 skilled or more practised in the art of arresting or 
 repairing the ravages of time, an art which has 
 its principles and a great variety of practical re- 
 cipes." ' 
 
 As it may interest some of my fair readers to know 
 the composition of those far-farmed Oriental cosmetics, 
 I shall transcribe hero the recipes of some of those pre- 
 parations, for the authenticity of which I can vouch, 
 having received them from one of my correspondents at 
 Tunis, 3 to whom they were given by a native Arabian 
 perfumer. If not useful, they will no doubt be found 
 amusing. 
 
 The kohl, or kheul, which we have seen in use for 
 
 1 Sonnini's Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt, p. 18 
 ! M. A. Chapclie. 
 
 M 
 

 Is 
 
 i • 
 
 THE OKI ini \i>. 
 
 135 
 
 darkening the eyelids .since (lie time of the ancient 
 Egyptians, is made by them in the following way : — 
 They remove the inside of a lemon, till it np with 
 plumbago and burnt copper, and place it on the tire 
 until it becomes carbonised ; then they pound it in a 
 mortar with coral, sandal-wood, pearls, ambergris, the 
 winp of a bat, and part of the body of a chameleon, 
 the whole having been previously burnt to a cinder 
 and moistened with rose-water while hot. 
 
 A complexion-powder called batikha, which is used 
 in all the harems for whitening the skin, is made in 
 the following manner :— They pound in a mortar some 
 cowrie-shells, borax, rice, white marble, crystal, tomata, 
 lemons, eggs, and helbas (a bitter seed gathered in 
 Egypt); mix them with the meal of beans, chick-peas, 
 and lentils, and place the whole inside a melon, mixing 
 with it its pulp and seeds ; it is then exposed to the sun 
 until its complete desiccation, and reduced to a fine 
 powder. 
 
 The preparation of a dye used for the hair and beard 
 is no less carious. It is composed of gall-nuts fried in 
 oil and rolled in salt, to which are added cloves, burnt 
 
 copper, minium, aromatic herbs, pomegranate flowers, 
 
 gum-arabic, litharge, and henna. The whole of these 
 
 ingredients are pulverised and dilated in the oil used 
 for frying the nuts. This gives it a jet-black colour, 
 but those who wish to impart a golden tint to their 
 hair employ simply henna for that purpose. 
 
 That hair-dyes have been used in the Kast formally 
 centuries appears from the following lines, in which 
 
 
 sVvS'. 
 

 f \ -.- lt = --- i V»v-V/ * ' — £ -^ r ■■=■ - 
 
 136 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 
 •^\M 
 
 Sadi ridicules the habit with a sarcastic spirit worthy 
 of Martial : — 
 
 ••An aged dame had dyed her locks of gray ; 
 'Granted.' I said, 'thy hair -with silTer Mail 
 M..v cheat m ami ; ytt, little mother I aj, 
 
 ::iou make straight thy back, which time has bent. - " ' 
 
 To conclude the Hst of Oriental cosmetics, I may 
 mention an almond paste, called hemsia, which is used 
 as a substitute for soap ; a tooth-powder named souek, 
 made from the bark of the walnut-tree ; pastilles of 
 musk and amber paste (kourss), for burning and also 
 for forming chaplets of beads, which the fair odalisques 
 roll for hours in their hands, thus combining a reli- 
 gious duty with a pleasant pastime ; a depilatory called 
 •■tennentina,"' which is nothing more than turpentine 
 thickened into a paste ; and last, not least, the cele- 
 brated sduiouda, a perfectly white cream, composed of 
 jasmine pomade and benzoin, by means of which a very 
 natural but transient bloom is imparted to the cheeks. 
 
 The far-famed Balm of Mecca is still greatly esteemed 
 amongst the Orientals, and some even pretend that the 
 limited quantity of the genuine article produced vearlv 
 is reserved for the Grand Seignior's special use. Lady 
 Mary "Wortley Montagu does not appear to have shared 
 their admiration for it, for she relates in her letters 
 that having had a small quantity presented to her, 
 applied it to her face, expecting some wonderful im- 
 provement from it, instead of which it made it red and 
 swollen for three davs. 2 
 
 B Gulistin. chap. vi. st. 5 
 
 Lady Montagu's Letters, ixxrii. 
 
"TX5*s 
 
 m 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
 THE ORIENTALS. 
 
 137 
 
 The same authority furnishes us with a very aceurate 
 description of the Eastern mode of wearing the hair; 
 and, as fashions are not so liable to change there as 
 they are here, we may assume it as applicable to the 
 present period. " The head-dress," says Lady Mon- 
 tague, 1 " is composed of a cap called la/pock, which is, 
 in winter, of fine velvet, embroidered with pearls or 
 diamonds, and in summer of a light shining silver stuff. 
 This is fixed on one side of the head, hanging a little 
 way down with a gold tassel, and bound on either with 
 a circle of diamonds or a rich embroidered handkerchief. 
 On the other side of the head the hair is laid flat, and 
 here the ladies are at liberty to show their fancies, 
 some putting flowers, others a plume of heron's feathers, 
 Hiid, ill short) what they please; but the most general 
 fashion is a large bouquet of jewels made like natural 
 flowers — that is, the buds of pearl, the roses of different 
 coloured rubies, the jessamines of diamonds, the jon- 
 quils of topazes, etc., so well set and enamelled, 'tis hard 
 to imagine anything of that kind so beautiful. The 
 hair hangs at its full length behind, divided into tresses 
 braided with pearl and ribbon, which is always in great 
 quantity." 
 
 The Turks shave their heads, leaving a single tuft of 
 hair on the tup, by which they expect Azracl, the angel 
 of death, to seize them when conveying them to their 
 last abode. They preserve their beard with the greatest 
 Care, and make it a point of religion to let it grow, be- 
 cause Mahomet never cut off his. No greater insult can 
 1 Lady Montague's Letters, xxix. 
 
 k_^ 
 
 3C4 
 

 CIIA I'T E II VIII. 
 
 The Fab East. 
 
 •• Be like the perfume-sellers, fbi thy dm ■ 
 Near them will share the odotirs the] possess," 
 
 I'nrw's Indian Atoiooies. 
 
 ONTINUIXG 
 oui peregri- 
 
 nations " all 
 round the 
 world," we 
 now come to 
 the Far East, 
 i hat fairy-land 
 of the ancients 
 which we more 
 sober - minded 
 moderns sim- 
 ply designate 
 under the 
 n a m e B f 
 India, China, and Japan. litre OUT history will cease 
 
 in be chronological, fur tin- arts of civilisation have been 
 known and practised by those nations from a very 
 
 I 
 
 
 sra 
 
THE BOOK OF PEBFCMES. 
 
 remote period, and little if any would be the change or 
 progress to be traced among them for many centuries. 
 
 To commence with India, we find that perfumes have 
 been used in that country since the earliest records ; a 
 fact easily accounted for by the sensual temperament 
 of its inhabitants, and the abundance of fragrant 
 materials placed at their disposal by bountiful Nature. 
 Kalidasa, a Sanskrit writer, who flourished under the 
 reign of king Yikrainaditya I., some two thousand 
 years ago, frequently mentions perfumes in his poems, 
 and especially in the beautiful drama called " Sakoon- 
 tala ; or, the Lost Ring." From him we learn they 
 were applied both to sacred and private purposes. 
 
 Sacrifices were usually offered in the temples of the 
 Indian Trinity, or Tremoortee, comprising Brahma, 
 Vishnu, and Siva. According to the Vedas they were 
 to consist of a fire of fragrant woods lighted at each of 
 the four cardinal points. The flames were fed now and 
 then with a consecrated ointment, and around the fire 
 was scattered a scented herb called kiisa, 1 which was 
 held sacred. Kanwa, the father of Sakoontala, who 
 is the chief of the hermits, offers one of these sacrifices 
 in the above-mentioned drama, and exclaims — 
 
 " Holy flames that gleam around 
 Every altar's hallowed ground ; 
 Holy flames, whose frequent food 
 Is the consecrated wood, 
 
 1 I believe this to have been the herb I found in the East India col • 
 lection at the International Exhibition, under the name of rusa. It is 
 the Andropogon tiardus, or ginger grass (improperly called Indian gera- 
 nium), from which an oil is extracted which is used iu perfumery. 
 
Jffci^&J 
 
 } 
 
 , 
 
 n 
 
 And for whose encircling bed 
 Sacred KGsa-grass is spread , 
 Holy flames thai waft to heaven 
 Sweet oblations daily given, 
 Mortal guilt to purge away . 
 Hear, oh, hear me, when 1 pray. 
 Purify 111 y child this clay !" ' 
 
 As will be seen from the last words of this prayer, 
 sacrifices were not only offered by the Hindus as a 
 general mode of worship, but also to propitiate the 
 gods on particular occasions, as was done by the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans. In this instance oakoontala 
 is about to be married, and her father invokes the 
 blessings of the deities upon her. These ceremonies 
 did not always take place in temples, but sometimes in 
 consecrated groves. In this same drama, King Dush- 
 yanta, alluding to this custom, says — 
 
 " The uprooting verdure of the leaves is dimmed 
 By dusky wreaths of upward-curling smoke 
 From burnt oblations." 
 
 It was considered no sin to apply sacred grass to pri- 
 vate purposes, for we find Anasiiya, one of Sakoontala's 
 handmaids, compounding perfumes and unguents with 
 consecrated paste and this kiisa-grass, to anoint the 
 limbs of her mistress, when attending to her bridal 
 toilet. 2 Some of these preparations were believed to 
 possess medicinal properties, and such was the ointment 
 of I'sira-root, 3 brought to the Indian beauty by another 
 assistant as a cure for fever. 
 
 The custom of staining the soles of the feet with 
 
 1 Sakoontala, Act it. > Sakoontnlu, Act iv. 
 
 5 This root is probably the Indian kas-kns, 01 otiurt ( jimtAmm 
 murkalum). 
 
 T£2 
 
HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 W 
 
 -v 
 
 henna appears to have been very ancient, for we find 
 it mentioned by one of the hermits who brings bridal 
 presents for Sakoontala, and thus describes a mysterious 
 forest where he found them : — 
 
 " Straightway depending from a neighbouring tree 
 Appeared a robe of linen tissue, pure 
 And spotless as a moonbeam — mystic pledge 
 Of bridal happiness ; another tree 
 Distilled a roseate dye wherewith to stain 
 The lady's feet." 
 
 In an Indian ode called " Megha-duta," translated by 
 
 Paterson, there occurs, also, the following passage 
 
 alluding to the same fashion : — 
 
 " The rose hath humbly bowed to meet 
 With glowing lips her hallowed feet, 
 And lent them all its bloom." 
 
 According to Hindu mythology there are five hea- 
 vens, over each of which presides one of their superior 
 gods. That of Brahma, called Brahma-loka, is situated 
 on Mount Meru ; those of Vishnu, Siva, Kuvera, and 
 Indra are on the summit of the Himalayas. In all these 
 elysiums perfumes and flowers are among the chief de- 
 lights. The principal ornament of Brahma's heaven is 
 
 " That blue flower which, Brahmins say, 
 Blooms nowhere but in Paradise." 
 
 It is the blue campac or champac flower, a great rarity, 
 as the only sort known on this earth 1 has yellow blos- 
 soms with which Hindu girls arc wont to ornament 
 their raven hair. 
 
 In Indra's paradise, called Swarga, is to be found the 
 still more attractive camalata, whose rosy flowers not 
 
 1 Mirhflin champacn. 
 
 X 
 
 £. 
 

 
 t 
 
 THE 1' Alt EAST. 
 
 143 
 
 only enchant the senses of all those who have the happi- 
 ness of breathing its delicious fragrance, but have also 
 the power of granting them all they may desire. This 
 Indra, the Jupiter Tonana of the Hindus, appears very 
 
 partial to .scent, for he is always represented with his 
 breast tinged with sandal-wood. 
 
 Kama, the god of love, or Indian Cupid, is armed 
 with a lniw made of 
 sugar-cane, the string 
 of which consists of 
 bees. He has five 
 arrows, each tipped 
 
 with the blossom of 
 
 a flower, which pierce 
 
 the heart through the 
 
 five sen ms, and his 
 
 favourite dart is 
 
 pointed with the chfi- 
 
 ta or mango-flower. 
 
 I regret to add that 
 
 young maidens, with 
 
 cruel dispositions, I 
 
 hardly to be expected in their tender years, do not 
 
 scruple to furnish the malicious god with weapons, as 
 
 may be seen from the following quotation. A young 
 maid plucks a mango-blossom and exclaims — ■ 
 
 "God of the bow, who with spring's choicest Bowers 
 I>'i-t point thy five unerring shafts ; I 
 I dedicate thi> blossom ; let it ■ 
 
 To baib thy traett arrow ; \>,- its mark 
 
 Some _v..uthful In art thai pines to tx belored." 
 
9 
 
 A sweet little flower, mounted on a reed, does not 
 appear at first sight to form a very dangerous weapon, 
 yet it seems to inflict great pain, if we are to credit the 
 complaints exhaled by a wounded swain, who says, in 
 the same poem — 
 
 " Every flowor-tippod shaft 
 Of Kama, as it probes our throbbing hearts, 
 Seems to be barbed with hardest adamant." 
 
 Flowers and perfumes are still used in modern Hindu 
 worship. Incense is burned in all ceremonies, and the 
 temples are adorned with a profusion of fresh-gathered 
 blossoms. Coloured ointments are also used to make 
 hieratic signs on the face, arms, and chest. The secta- 
 ries of Vishnu have a red and yellow line drawn 
 horizontally on the forehead ; those of Siva wear the 
 same line vertically. I saw in the East Indian collec- 
 tion at the last Exhibition some specimens of these 
 ointments, which were very strongly flavoured with 
 sandal-wood, and other indigenous essences. In a 
 religious fete called Mariafta Codam, the devotees rub 
 themselves over with an ointment made of saffron, and 
 go round collecting alms, in return for which they dis- 
 tribute scented sticks, partly composed of sandal-wood, 
 which are received with great veneration. At ano- 
 ther held in honour of the goddess Debrodee, fakcers 
 crowned with flowers sprinkle incense on glowing coals, 
 which they place in their hands without appearing to 
 experience any pain from it. At the Krishna festival 
 a red powder diluted in rose-water is liberally distri- 
 buted by means of syringes over all passers-by, to the 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 Kd 
 
 3fc, 
 
 JU* 
 
 JL 
 
 H: 
 
. 5 ., y 
 
 
 
 1K> 
 
 utter discomfiture of their wearing apparel. A some- 
 wliat similar custom is observed in the liirmun Empire. 
 Oil tile l'Jtli of April, which is the las) day of their 
 calendar, women throw water at all they meet, to wash 
 away all the impurities of the past year and Commence 
 
 the new one free from sin. Rich people use rose-water 
 mixed with sandal-wood for that purpose. 
 
 In Tibet incense is also burned, sometimes in a censer 
 but more frequently in a gigantic altar, with an aperture 
 at the top, which is called Sony-boom, and bears some 
 
 Song-boom, or Tibetan Incense Altar. 
 
 resemblance to a lime-kiln. 1 As, however, the fragranl 
 gums of India are scarce in these northern regions, 
 
 juniper is used as a substitute. They also make me in 
 
 their worship of a very singular implement consisting 
 1 Dr. Hooker 1 ! Bimalayan Journal, rol i. p. 339. 
 
 - - 
 
 
^y^i. 
 
 SS r-^:r. -iff : 
 
 a' ----- 
 
 I If. 
 
 THE JSOOK OF PERFUME! 
 
 of a leather cylinder, which contains written prayers, 
 and is turned with a handle. Each revolution causes 
 a little hell to ring, and this counts for one prayer. 
 Some 2">eople even think this mechanical mode of pray- 
 ing too fatiguing, and have their cylinders turned, like 
 mills, by tcater-power. 1 
 
 In Cochin China, when fishermen are about to start 
 on a cruise, they seek to propitiate the deities of the 
 perfidious clement by burning aromatic and conse- 
 crated woods on altars formed of rude stones. The 
 Javanese, who are the usual purveyors of those delicate 
 birds' nests so highly prized by Chinese epicures, offer 
 up likewise a sacrifice before venturing on these dange- 
 rous expeditions. They slaughter a buffalo, pronounce 
 some prayers, anoint themselves with sweet-scented oils, 
 and smoke with gum benzoin the entrance of the caverns 
 where they are to seek the coveted prize. Near some 
 of these caves a tutelar goddess is worshipped, whose 
 priest burns incense, and lays bis protecting hands on 
 every person prepared to descend into the abyss. 2 
 
 Hindu marriages are celebrated under a sort of canopy 
 called pendal, which, among wealthy people, is richly 
 ornamented and brilliantly lighted with lamps. The 
 bride and bridegroom sit, or rather squat, at one end, 
 and at the other burns the sacred tire or omai), which 
 is constantly kept up by throwing into it sandal-wood, 
 incense, scented oils, and other ingredients, which shed 
 aromatic fumes. The Brahmans. after having recited 
 
 1 Dr. Hooker's Himalayan Journal, i. 195, 
 : Lord Macartney's Embassy to China. 
 
 2±r> 
 
. 
 
 147 •]-■'■ . 
 
 a variety of prayers, consecrate the anion of the couple \ '(%L: 
 
 by throwing a handful of saffron mixed with rice Hour '^kj\ i 
 
 1 
 
 on their shoulders, and the ceremony ends by the 
 husband presenting his wife with a little golden image 
 called take, which is worn round the neck by married 
 women, as a substitute for the wedding-ring. 1 
 
 i 
 
 ft 
 
 Hindu Marriage Cc 
 
 Scented woods are also used in the funeral piles which 
 consume the remains of the dead, when the wealth cf 
 
 the deceased, or the generosity of Ins heirs, admits of 
 such expense. "When suttees were still in fashion, dis- 
 consolate widows could have the satisfaction of dying, 
 like Sardanapalus, "ttifled in aromatic smoke;" hut 
 
 1 T.' rndnnstan, vol. iii. p It. 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
since the British Government has abolished this custom 
 they are Left to end their days like ordinary mortals. 
 
 There are few countries in the world equal to India 
 for the abundance and variety of its floral productions. 
 
 " A hundred flowers there are beaming. 
 The verdure smiling and the hushed waves dreaming. 
 Each flower is still a brighter hue assuming. 
 Each a far league the love -sick air perfuming. 
 The rose her book of hundred leaves unfolding, 
 The tulip's hand a cup of red wine holding. 
 The northern zephyr ambergris round spreading, 
 Still through its limits varied scents is shedding." ' 
 
 Whilst the southern provinces are rich with the 
 vegetation of tropical climes, the northern parts, and 
 especially Cashmere, teem with roses and other Euro- 
 pean flowers. 
 
 " Who has not heard of the vale of Cashmere, 
 
 With its roses the brightest that earth ever gave, 
 Its temples and grottoes, and fountains as clear 
 
 Afi the love-lighted eyes that hang over their wave?" 2 
 
 Otto of roses has been made for a very long time in 
 India, and Lieutenant-Colonel Polier thus relates its 
 origin in the "Asiatic Researches:" — "Noorjeehaa 
 Begum (Light of the "World), the favourite wife of 
 Jchan-Geer, was once walking in her garden, through 
 which ran a canal of rose-water, when she remarked 
 some oily particles floating on the surface. These were 
 collected, and their aroma found to be so delicious, that 
 means were devised to produce the precious essence in 
 a regular way." 
 
 Next in favour is the jasmine, which Hindu poets call 
 
 t 
 
 Anyar-i Suluili, eh. i. st. 26. 
 
 : Moore's T.alla Rookh. 
 
 J» 
 
sdHt^fefe 
 
 
 ^$z 
 
 THE 1AK BA8T. 
 
 110 
 
 ill.' " Moonlight of the Grove." There arc two spi 
 cultivated for their perfume — the Jasmiiium gratidlj/onim, 
 or Tore, and the Jasminum hirxutum, or Sambac. 
 
 Among other fragrant flowers we may mention the 
 Pandang [Pandanm odoratimkmn), the Champao (Miche- 
 lia champaca), the Kuma (Pluenix dactili/era), the 15oo- 
 I/J kool (Minusopa eleiigi), and last, not least, the Henna 
 [Lawaonia vnermu), the blossoms of which have a deli- 
 cious odour. 
 
 From all these flowers essences are distilled, and the 
 centre of this manufacture is Qhazepore, a town situated 
 on the north hank of the Can-' s above Benares. The 
 process is extremely simple. The petals are placed in 
 clay stills with twice their weight of water, and the 
 produce is exposed to (he fresh air for a night in open 
 vessels. The next morning the otto is found congealed 
 on the surface and is carefully skimmed off. These 
 ess Hi 68 would be very beautiful if they were pure, but 
 the native distillers being but little skilled in their art, 
 
 add Bandal-W 1 shavings to the flowers to facilitate the 
 
 extraction of the otto, which thus becomes tainted with 
 a heavy Bandal-wood flavour. Besides these essences, 
 perfumed oils are also made with some of these flowers 
 in the following way : — (iingelly oil seeds are placed in 
 alternate layers with fresh flowers in a covered vessel. 
 The latter are renewed several times, after which the 
 seeds are pressed, and the oil produced is found to have 
 
 acquired the smell of the flowers. Musk, civet, amber- 
 gris, spikenard ( Valeriana Jatamansi), 1 patchouly, and 
 
 1 Bm < h:i]>. iii. 
 
 
w. 
 
 ra 
 
 . 
 
 Wa 
 
 ¥ 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 kus-kus are also favourite perfumes with the Indians. 
 The last mentioned, which is the rhizome of the ana- 
 therum muricatum, is made into mats and blinds, which, 
 being watered in the sun, give out a most pleasant 
 odour. 
 
 Perfumes and flowers play a great part in Indian 
 poetry, and the following extracts taken at random from 
 "Anvar-i Suhaili" 1 will show to what happy compari- 
 sons they are applied : — 
 
 " Like musk is moral worth ; from sight concealed 
 'Tis by its odour to the sense revealed." 
 
 " The damsel entered the king's chamber with a face 
 like a fresh rose-bud which the morning-breeze has 
 caused to blow, and with ringlets like the twisting 
 hyacinth buried in an envelope of the purest musk." 
 
 '■ With hyacinth and jessamine her perfumed hair was bound, 
 A posy of sweet violets her clustering ringlets seemed ; 
 IIYr . vis with love intoxicate, in witching sleep half drowned, 
 
 Her locks to Indian spikenard like, with love's enchantments beamed." 
 
 The following description of a young maiden struck 
 down by illness is exquisitely beautiful : — 
 
 "All of a sudden the blighting glance of unpropitious 
 fortune having fallen on that rose-cheeked cypress, she 
 laid her head on the pillow of sickness ; and in the 
 flower-garden of her beauty, in place of the damask- 
 rose, sprang up the branch of the saffron. Her fresh 
 jessamine, from the violence of the burning illness, lost 
 its moisture ; and her hyacinth full of curls, lost all its 
 endurance from the fever that consumed her." 
 
 Anvir-i Suhaili, or the Lights of Canopus, translated by E. B. Eastwick. 
 
 Jr 
 
 ^4; ;;vMi&s&0 
 
 m 
 

 v, 
 
 THE FAB E 1ST. 
 
 151 
 
 Her graceful form, with lengthened Buffering 
 \\';is like hex perfumed muaky tr onooe — bent.' 
 
 spent, 
 
 The Hindu perfumer (called gund'hee) (lues not in- 
 dulge, like his European confreres, in ahowy glass cases 
 and brilliant shops. His whole establishment consists 
 
 in a few sacks, boxes, and trays, containing bis various 
 
 fragrant stores, in the midst of which he .sits dispensing 
 them to his beauty-seeking patrons. 
 
 rumra . 
 original sketch.) 
 
 
 The Hindu barber plies also his vocation in the 
 open air, and handles with great dexterity his razor. 
 mounted on hinges, which is a somewhat formidahli 
 looking instrument. The specimen represented on the 
 oexl page is from an original in Mr. Berthoud's collec- 
 tion, which is of gilt metal, chiselled, and studded 
 with jewels. 
 
 I ; : i ■ MM I 
 

 THE BOOK OF PEBFUMKS. 
 
 My remarks have been hitherto confined to the Hin- 
 dus, and although some of them will equally apply to 
 the Mussulmans inhabiting India, the latter offer some 
 peculiar characteristics which may be briefly described. 
 In "Qanoon-e-Islam," a book written by Jaffur Shur- 
 rccf, a native of the Deccan, is to be found some reliable 
 information on this subject. 
 
 <=»»*€ 
 
 Hindu Razor. 
 
 Their customs naturally offer some resemblance to 
 those of their Arabian ancestors, and their fondness for 
 perfumes seems to have in no way decreased since the 
 time of the Prophet. In all their ceremonies they burn 
 ^js. ood, an incense composed of benzoin, aloe, sandal- 
 wood, patchouly, etc., and the oodsoz, or censer, is also 
 lighted at the feet of the dead as soon as their eyes have 
 been closed. J->^» sundul or sandal-wood ointment is 
 
 1* 
 
likewise used for religious purposes m so many instances 
 that it would till a book to relate them all. I shall merely 
 quote one as being, perhaps, the most curious, and that 
 
 Magic Figure for Dawut or Exorcism. 
 
 is the datrut or exorcism. Magic circles, squares, and 
 figures are drawn on a plank with sundu/, and the indi- 
 vidual supposed to be possessed with a demon is rnadt 
 
 
m 
 
 THE I- AH I.AM. 
 
 As an example of the lavish use of perfumes they 
 make in private life, I may give a description of the 
 Singardcm, or toilet-hag, forming part of the presents 
 
 which a bridegroom usually sends to his bride elect. 
 This ndceasaire contains, among other things, a pandan, 
 
 or box to hold betel, an aromatic mixture fur chewing, 
 a vial containing otto of roses, a goolabpash or bottle 
 to sprinkle rose-water on visitors, a box for containing 
 spices, another for holding meesce (a powder made of 
 gall-nuts ami vitriol for blackcn'tny 1 the teeth), one for 
 soorma to blacken the eyelids, one for kaj'ul to darken 
 the eyelashes, a comb, a looking-glass, etc. 
 
 This foijid is used in the same way as the Egyptian 
 kohl, oft in mentioned before, but the soorma is applied 
 inside the eyelids, ami there is a very curious tradition 
 
 connected with the origin of this custom. They say 
 that when God commanded Moses to ascend Koh-c-Toor 
 (Mount Sinai), to show him His countenance, He ex- 
 hibited it through an opening of the size of a needle's 
 eye. at the sight of which Moses fell into a trance. 
 Alter a couple of hours, on coming to himself, he dis- 
 covered the mountain in a blaze, when he deso aded 
 immediately. The mountain then addles- d the Al- 
 mighty thus: — ""What! hast thou set me. who am the 
 least of all mountains, on fireP" Then the Lord com- 
 manded Moses, Baying, " Henceforth ahalt thou and 
 thy posterity grind tin' earth of this mountain, and 
 apply it to your eye>." Since then this custom ha- pre- 
 
 1 Women blacken their teeth when tin v marry, ami keep tl 
 long .1- their hoabandi arc alive. 
 
&\ 
 
 
 x j \ \ ^ » 
 
 136 THE BOOK OF PBBFUMES. 
 
 vailed, and the soorma sold in the bazaars of Hindostan 
 is supposed to be earth coming from Mount Sinai. 1 
 
 Among other perfumes used by Indian Mussulmans 
 may be mentioned Abeer, a scented powder, which is 
 rubbed on the face and body, or sprinkled on clothes 
 and which is made of sandal-wood, aloes, turmeric, 
 roses, camphor, and civet ; another powder called Ch'tksa, 
 composed of mustard-seed, flour, fenugreek, Cyprus, san- 
 dal-wood, patchouly, kus-kus, aniseed, camphor, benzoin, 
 and all known spices ; Uggur-kec-buttcc, a pastille made 
 of gum-benzoin and other odoriferous substances ; and 
 Urgujja, a sweet ointment composed of sandal-wood, 
 aloes, otto of roses, and essence of jasmine. They also 
 use a tooth-powder called JTuiijun, which is a mixture 
 of burnt almond- shells, tobacco ashes, black pepper, 
 and salt. 
 
 Indian women pay great attention to their hair, 
 which is generally of a beautiful colour and length, but 
 rather coarse. They anoint it with perfumed oil, and 
 wear in it a profusion of jewels, the poorer class substi- 
 tuting glass beads for those costly ornaments. Some- 
 times also they decorate their heads with natural flowers, 
 the silvery jasmine or the golden champac setting off 
 admirably their raven tresses. The blossoms of a sort 
 of acacia, called Sirisha, they place above their ears : — 
 
 " Fond maids, the chosen of their hearts to please, 
 Entwine their ears with sweet Sirisha flowers, 
 Whose fragrant lips attract the kiss of bees, 
 That softly murmur through the summer hours " 
 
 1 Qanoon-e-Islam Gl<>-> v. 
 

 > 
 
 I 
 
 
 THE FAB BAST. 
 
 ft 
 
 157 
 
 The liair is worn by sonic confined in a net, but more 
 
 generally in long tresses, which are united into one in 
 
 case of mourning. The nautch- 
 
 girls, or bayadbres, wear ringlets 
 
 in fronl and plaits at the back 
 
 of the head. The accompanying 
 
 illustration, from a native draw- 
 ing, will convey some idea of the 
 appearance of an Indian beauty, 
 who mi<*-lit lay claim here to the 
 same appellation, were it not for 
 mda Head-dress. the nose-ring, which may be 
 thought objectionable, and which must decidedly be 
 inconvenient. 
 
 In the Himalayas the hair is made up into long 
 
 Pocket Comb used by the Mech Tribes. 
 
 braided tails, women wearing two. and men only one. 
 
 =■>?. 
 
 1 
 
 

 THK BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 The Lcpclias have, in addition, a detached braid, form- 
 ing an arch of about ten inches in height over the head 
 as represented in page 7. They pay great attention to 
 their hair, and generally carry with them a pocket comb, 
 curiously carved, like the accompanying specimen found 
 amongst the Mech tribes. 
 
 ^Ve shall now proceed to the Celestial Empire, where 
 perfumes have also been used since the earliest times. 
 A Chinese proverb, attributed to 
 Confucius (or Kong-Foo-Tse'i , 
 -ays. •• Incense perfumes bad 
 smells, and candles illumine 
 men's hearts." Acting on that 
 m , a^\ v xr principle, they use both lavishly 
 ' ^ V ' in public and private, which 
 
 woidd lead the hypercritical to 
 conclude that their hearts re- 
 quire a great deal of lighting 
 up. and that the natural odours 
 of their temples and dwellings 
 are none of the sweetest. 
 
 Joss-sticks (icdn fieang) and 
 tinsel-paper (yucn paou) are the 
 forms under which this incense 
 is usually burned, and the con- 
 sumption is so enormous that, 
 according to Morrison, there are no less than ten 
 thousand makers in the province of Canton alone. 
 Morning and evening three sticks of incense are to be 
 offered. They are usually placed in stationary censers 
 
 •- 
 
 * 
 
:-rM:^:S^Ml 
 
 a. *> ca 
 
 1111. I'M! BAST. 
 
 159 
 
 -7 
 
 tgN 
 
 of an elegant form, such as the annexed Bpecunen 
 taken from a temple at Tong-Choo-Foo. Sometimes 
 they are laid at the feet of idols, as ahown in the 
 preceding illustration which represents a statue of 
 Providence. 
 
 In tlie Ti-vang-mia-o, or Hall of ceremonies, ai Pekin, 
 incense is burned in twelve large urns, in memory of 
 
 the deceased emperors. When the man- 
 darins come and pay their respects to 
 their present monarch, they also burn 
 incense before him; if he is away they 
 offer the same homage to Ids empty 
 chair. A similar ceremony takes place 
 
 every Year at the festival held in honour 
 of ( lonfucius. 
 
 Perfumes also play their pari at Chi- 
 nese funerals. The body is washed, 
 
 perfumed, and dressed in the best ap- 
 parel of the deceased, whose portrait is , : ,-., censer it 
 
 placed in the middle of the room, above 
 
 ^a,^ the incense-burner, which forms an indis- 
 pensable item in their household furniture. 
 The persons forming the procession who 
 
 convey the corpse to its last abode burn 
 
 perfumed matches all the way. The nearest 
 rnvn"- relatives walk on crutches, as if entirely dis- 
 abled from grief, whilst the women, carried 
 in palanquins closed with white .silk curtains, utter 
 loud lamentations.' 
 
 1 Lord Mai j to ( Una. 
 
 I 
 
 

 THE HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 The catalogue of Chinese perfumery is rather limited. 
 Besides the incense sticks, they only use a few scented 
 oils and essences, which are more strong than agreeable — 
 jfc jfk e heang, a perfume for the clothes, and :5k 43 
 heamj isaou, a pomade for the hair. Musk is one of 
 their favourite perfumes, which is but natural, con- 
 sidering that they supply all the world with it, the 
 animal which produces it inhabiting the provinces 
 of Mohan g Mang and Mohang Vinan. They not 
 only like its flavour, but they believe that it cures 
 every disease under the sun, even headache, and in this 
 opinion they are backed by their principal medical 
 authorities. Pao-po-tse recommends it as a sure pre- 
 ventative against the bite of serpents, and says that all 
 persons travelling in the mountains should carry a 
 small ball of musk under the nail of the big toe, as the 
 musk-deer (which they call shay) being in the habit of 
 eating serpents, those reptiles are kept away by the 
 odour. Sandal-wood, patehouly, and assa/aiida com- 
 plete the list of Chinese perfumery ingredients. 
 
 They have some beautifully fragrant flowers, such as 
 the Kwei-Hwa (Olea frayrann), Lien-Hwa (Nymphma 
 nelumbo), Cha-IIwa (Camellia sesani/na), and a sort of 
 jasmine called Mo-lu-Hwa, one blossom of which is 
 sufficient to scent a room. They possess also several 
 species of odoriferous woods, but they have not hitherto 
 availed themselves of these natural treasures. They 
 hold, however, in high esteem the fruit of a cedar 
 which grows in the mountains of Tchong-te-foo, and 
 hang it up in (heir rooms to perfume them. 
 
 ^tH 
 
 A, 
 
THK FAB BAST. 
 
 Soap is not made or used by the Chinese. A natural 
 alkali, called "keen," which is found in abundance near 
 IVkin, serves as a substitute for washing their clothes. 
 As to theil persons, I am forced to confess that they do 
 not appear to feel the want of a detersive, their taste for 
 ablutions being very limited. If, however, soaps are 
 not in request with Chinese belles, they have not the 
 same objection to cosmetics, which they apply very 
 liberally to their skin. Those who have some regard 
 for their complexion, bedaub themselves at night with a 
 mixture of tea-oil and rice-flour, which, like the Roman 
 dames, they carefully scrape off in the morning. They 
 then apply a white powder called •• Mem-Fun," touch 
 up with a little carmine their checks, their lips, their 
 nostrils, and the tip of their tongue, and sprinkle rice- 
 powdcr over their face, 
 which finishes the elabo- 
 rate picture, and softens 
 its tones. Some of them 
 also use the pulp of a 
 fruit called Lung-ju-en, 
 with which they make a 
 sort of cold-cream for the 
 skin. 
 
 There are three styles 
 principally adopted by 
 a Chinese hulv fir dress- 
 ing her hair, which styles 
 
 indicate whether she is u * d - 
 
 a maid, wife, or widow. From her infancy to hei 
 
D&v 
 
 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 162 
 
 marriage, a young girl wears the back part of her 
 hair braided into a tail, and the remainder combed 
 over her forehead, a d cut in the shape of a crescent. 
 On her wedding-day, her head is decorated with a 
 crown covered with tinsel paper, and on the next 
 dav her hair is dressed, for the first time, in the well- 
 known teapot style, of which the 
 annexed engraving is an illustra- 
 tion. On holidays she ornaments 
 it with flowers, either natural 
 or artificial, according to the 
 season. When she becomes a 
 widow, she shaves part of her 
 head, and binds round it a fillet, 
 fastened with numerous bodkins, 
 which are sometimes very costly. 
 The men shave their heads, 
 keeping only on the summit a 
 long tuft of hair, of which they are very proud, although 
 it was originally a mark of their subjection to the Tar- 
 tars. When their hair is thin, they mix silk or horse- 
 hair with it, to give their tails a respectable appearance. 
 Sometimes they wind this appendage round their necks 
 when they are at work ; but if they see a stranger 
 approaching they quickly restore it to its natural posi- 
 tion, as it would be thought unmannerly to receive any 
 one in that state. 
 
 Barbers are called in China Te tow telh Jin, or 
 literally "shavers of the head," this being their prin- 
 cipal occupation ; but like the barber-surgeons of old 
 
 original sketch by 
 . E. Greet/.] 
 
 \v\ 
 
1 ,.J , 
 
 2S 
 
 ■V 
 
 164 
 
 of sachet called Xioi-bukooroo ; and Hamigaki, a tooth- 
 powder made of fine shells found on the coast, and 
 mixed with scented herbs. European perfumes are 
 slowly working their way into the country, but not 
 much consumption is to be expected until paper pocket- 
 handkerchiefs are abolished. Aromatics are used in 
 funeral rites, somewhat in the same manner as they 
 were bv the ancient Greeks and Romans. The body is 
 placed on a pile of fragrant woods, the youngest child 
 of the deceased sets fire to it with a torch, and all 
 persons present throw on it oil, aloes, and odoriferous 
 gums. 
 
 Cosmetics are as much used by ladies in Japan as they 
 
 Japanese Ladies at their Toilet. 
 (From the Mirror of Female Education, published at Jeddo.) 
 
 are in Kathay ; and, if we may judge by the above 
 sketch, the duties of the toilet are an important matter 
 

 \.' 
 
 "One glance of h> I I yc 
 And you lose your city ; 
 Another, and yon would 
 Forfeit a kingdom." 
 
 with thorn. I have in my possession a Japanese book, 
 from which I have selected the 
 
 accompanying portrait of a 
 belle in full dress, one of those 
 charming creatures thus apos- 
 trophised by a native poet : 
 
 JrwrvN fee ' "yj*s, S*£> 
 
 Japanese ladies pay great at- 
 tention to their hair, which they 
 arrange in all manner of fan- 
 tastical styles, inserting into 
 it an immense quantity of pins, 
 made of tortoiseshell or lac- 
 quered wood, and sometimee 
 also natural flowers. When a 
 woman marries, she blackens 
 her teeth and extirpates her 
 
 , -- - .. eyebrows 
 
 Japanese Head -dress. 
 
 Japanese Eelle. 
 
 The men shave the 
 fore-part and the crown of their 
 heads, and work up the back 
 and side hair into a tuft over 
 the bald skull. The annexed 
 engraving represents the ordi- 
 nary kind of female head-dress, 
 and the illustration forming 
 the frontispiece of this chapter, 
 which is a perfect fac-simile of a 
 
 Japanese fashion-plate, from the Hair-Dretaera' Journal 
 
 "3— 
 
*-v 
 
 &,*£*&£&& 
 
 
 
 ®b 
 
 THE BOOK OP PERFUMES. 
 
 at Nagasaki, proves that both men and women indulge 
 in a great variety of styles and ornaments. The lower 
 part of the plate is composed of ladies' coiffures, and the 
 upper part is reserved to the sterner sex, which is in- 
 dicated bv the blue patch on the head showing where it 
 is shaved. 
 
 Thus they take great pains to get rid of what we are 
 so anxious to preserve; and glory in a smooth pale, 
 which we Europeans endeavour to conceal with a pe- 
 ruke. So much for diversity of tastes in nations. Some 
 shave their heads, and others their chins, and each calls 
 the other uncleanly for not following the same fashion ! 
 
 :Sf 
 
 w 
 
 Jr 
 
 ,4- QfegjMj^ yg " 
 

 «8 
 
 107 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 U k c i v 1 1. 1 /. e d Nations. 
 
 "(Din IViIcm, ^IC Ueifbl Sluib OflMr 
 
 luntiiiiti iit !•>* haul* tj« KtiTjijc j»jr, 
 
 Sctiniicfl tit BtitM mil iraQnitrn Bcfectn, nnt 
 
 3>rii £u!« imt tit 9rmt mil 2J!ufrttlu bum." 
 
 FltEILIGItATU. 
 
 T was men- 
 tioned at the 
 commencement 
 of this hook 
 that civilized 
 people would 
 not monopolise 
 I our whole at- 
 | tcnl ion ; hut 
 I that among 
 savage tribes 
 I we could also 
 '' find some cu- 
 rious fashions 
 - A '' ' '"> •, *• to chronicle. 
 
 In every ape and in every country, nun. oven m ■ 
 harbarou- state, haw attempted to enhance artificially 
 their personal attractions ; and however indifferent their 
 
 ■ 
 
 

 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 9 
 
 m 
 
 \i 
 
 success may have been in our eyes, it is only charitable 
 to suppose that it attained its purpose with them. A 
 Botocudo dandy, parading about with a huge wooden 
 disc inserted in his lower lip, thinks no doubt as much 
 of himself as one of our fops issuing in full trim from 
 the hands of his valet ; and who is to decide, after all, 
 which is the true standard of taste ? Let those who 
 think that ire must always be in the right look back to 
 the fashion plates of fifty or sixty years ago, and it is 
 highly probable they will irreverently apply the name 
 of old guys to their grandfathers and grandmothers ; 
 but may we not naturally expect our grandchildren to 
 entertain the same flattering opinion of ourselves in half 
 a century? 
 
 Before concluding our history, therefore, and bring- 
 ing it down from the Roman Empire to the present 
 time, we shall devote this chapter to a glance into 
 various nooks and corners of the world where, although 
 they know little or nothing of civilisation, they still 
 attempt to ornament and decorate in various ways " the 
 human face divine." Of perfumes, properly speaking, 
 there is a very limited use among these people, whose 
 untutored olfactories are sometimes apt to prefer a strong 
 rancid smell to the finest productions of our labora- 
 tories ; but if we are allowed to class among cosmetics 
 the various pigments used by them for painting their 
 faces and bodies, we shall find them extensively patro- 
 nised. And why should not the elaborate and motley 
 colours applied by the lied Indian to his physiognomy, 
 to render him by turns attractive to his squaws or tcr- 
 
 * 
 

 
 UNCIVILIZED NATIONS. 
 
 ty 
 
 rible to his foes, be placed in the same category with 
 the patent enamel of Mime of our London aspiring- belles, 
 who confidently believe it will make them beautiful for 
 ecer ? ■ As to the modes of dressing the hair, numerous 
 and eccentric as may be our styles of European coiffures, 
 they are left altogether in the shade, when compared 
 with the extraordinary contrivances resorted to by the 
 children of nature in decking out the hair or icool which 
 may have fallen to their lot. 
 
 Commencing <mr tour in Africa, we shall find the 
 custom of anointing as prevalent with all the natives as 
 it was with the ancient Greeks and Romans, and ap- 
 plied, as was the ease then, to the body as well as 
 to the hair. The chief motive lor this practice is no 
 doubt a sanitary one; by means of this greasy coating 
 they protect their skin against the scorching rays oi 
 the sun, on the same principle that a cook bastes 
 her meat well to prevent it from burning ; but it is 
 also looked upon by them as a great embellishment. 
 They take as much pride in exhibiting a sleek, oily 
 cuticle as a Parisian in wearing well-polished boots, 
 and no greater compliment can be paid to a woman 
 than to say she looks "fat and shining." They accom- 
 plish this desirable result by means of various lubricat- 
 ing substances, such as cocoa-nut oil, palm-oil, and a 
 kind of butter called ee, produced by pounding in a 
 mortar and boiling in water the fruit of a tree which 
 grOWS on tin' wist coast of Africa. These ointments 
 arc generally flavoured with aromatic herbs or scented 
 woods; but from the accounts of travellers, their aroma 
 
 X 
 
 
 s* 
 
 ta 
 
 
>J \- \ ^ 1 
 
 THE BOOK OF l'EKIl Ml> 
 
 is often "more peculiar than pleasing." That it is 
 strong enough is not to be doubted, for Mr. Hutchinson, 
 in his " Ten Years in ^Ethiopia," speaking of a parti- 
 cular sort called Tola pomatum, which is used in the 
 
 province of Fernando Po, says, "The first thing of 
 which one is sensible when approaching a village is the 
 odour of Tola pomatum, wafted by whatever little breeze 
 may be able to find its way through the dense bushes." 
 The same traveller gives the following amusing 
 
 

 i M l\ [LIZES NATIONS. 
 
 ]7l 
 
 
 accounf of the "toilet" of a Femandian bridegroom: — 
 
 "Outside:, .small hut, belonging to the mother of the 
 bride expectant, I soon recognized the happy bride- 
 groom undergoing his toilei from the hands of his 
 
 I'm ure wife's sister. A profusion of Tshibbu strings 
 being fastened round his body, as well as bis legs and 
 arms, the anointing lady, having a short blaek pipe in 
 her mouth, proceeded to putty him over with Tola 
 paste, lie seemed no< altogether joyous at the antici- 
 pation of his approaching happiness, but turned a sulky 
 gaze now and then to a kidney-shaped pieee of yam 
 which he held in his hand, and which had a parrot's 
 red feather fixed on its Convex side. This, I was 
 informed, was called Ntshoba, and is regarded as a 
 protection against evil influence on the important 
 
 day." 
 
 It must not be supposed thai this beautifying pro- 
 cess is confined to the male sex; for, speaking a little 
 further on of the bride, }I r. Hutchinson says — " Borne 
 down by the weight of rings and wreaths, and girdles 
 
 of Tshibbu, the Tola pomatum gave her the appearance 
 
 of an exhumed mummy, save her face, which was all 
 white, not from excess ofmodesty land here I may add 
 the negro race are reported always to blush blue), but 
 from being smeared over with a white paste, the symbol 
 of purity. As Boon as she was outside the paling, her 
 bridal attire was proceeded with, and the whole body 
 
 plaateredover with white stuff." What a pretty substitute 
 for the classi c al wreath of orange-blossoms, and what a 
 charming contrast must be offered when the paint 
 
 r. 3 
 
 V 
 
S^^^J, 
 
 1 Li 
 
 mgi 
 
 V^f¥ 
 
 172 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 gradually peels off, and reveals the sable ground on &fi 
 which it is laid ! 
 
 Dr. Livingstone, Du Chaillu, and other African ex- X 
 
 plorers give us amusing accounts of the fantastical -$,\j[ 
 
 
 H^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 -tf 
 
 '<S> 
 
 <^x 
 
 tushutulompo Read -dresses. 
 
 modes of native hair — or, rather, wool — dressing. The 
 Bushukulompos work theirs up into a cone somewhat 
 like a helmet, 1 whilst the Londa ladies 2 bring theirs over 
 in front and at the back of 
 the head, in the shape of a 
 cocked hat, with a carved pin 
 jauntily stuck in, in lieu of a 
 feather. The Ashira belles 
 patronise a more elaborate 
 style, consisting in multitu- 
 dinous points radiating from 
 tonda ilea i dress the face, and confined with 
 
 an outward circle, which would give them some faint 
 
 Dr. Livingstone's Africa. 
 
 Du Chaillu's Travels. 
 
 kj 
 
 u 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 

 ^ 
 
 I'NCIVII.I/ED NATIONS 
 
 o> 
 
 
 Ashira Head-dress. 
 
 resemblance to a saint such as depicted in Catholic 
 countries, if the picture con- 
 tained inside the nimbus wore 
 
 a more angelic expression. 
 
 The Makololo women cut their 
 
 hair quite short, and in the 
 
 (ireat Desert of Sahara the 
 
 forehead is shaved high up, 
 
 leaving only one curl, which 
 
 is braided and hangs down 
 
 over the lace. 1 The Hottentots, according to Sir John 
 
 Barrow, have very curious hair ; it does not cover the 
 
 whole surface of the seal]), but grows in small tufts 
 
 separated from each other, and, when kept short, looks 
 
 and feels like a hard shoc-bru.<h. 
 
 The most varied and extraordinary coiffures, however, 
 are to be found among the tribes of the Ounyamonczi, 
 or Mountains of the Moon, as will be shown by the 
 group, on the next page, taken from Capt. Burton's 
 interesting Voyage to the Lake Regions of Central 
 Africa. To complete their attractions they have 
 two deep scars made on each side of the face with a 
 razor or a knife. This ornament is also patronized by 
 the fair sex ; but with their usual penchant to coquetry, 
 they have the scars dyed of a bine colour. 
 
 In the island of Madagascar, the long black hair of 
 
 the men used to be plaited in small tails, three or four 
 
 inches in length, with a knot at the end; bnl King 
 
 Itadama, rinding this fashion inconvenient for bis troops, 
 
 1 Hichardson's Trarels in th< Great Desert ••! Sahara. 
 
 
 c 
 
 ■IT 
 
 <n 
 
 
 M* 
 
 iff 
 
published an edict ordering ail his soldiers to have these 
 plaits cut off. This law, however, met with great oppo- 
 sition, not only from the men — who cherished their 
 capillar}' ornaments as much as the hussars of the last 
 century did their tresses and queues — but also on the part 
 of their wives, who prided themselves on their attention 
 
 nead-dress of the Gunyainor.ezi Tribes. 
 
 in keeping their husbands' hair well plaited and greased 
 with cocoa-nut oil. Finding ordinary legal means in- 
 Bufficient, King Radama resorted to the force of example, 
 and appeared one day at a review with his hair cropped 
 quite close. Those who were most anxious to please 
 their sovereign, did not now hesitate to sacrifice their 
 locks; but some of the more obstinate held out, en- 
 
fe5 
 
 UNCIVILIZED -V \ 1 ions. 
 
 couraged in their resistance by the women, who raised 
 quite an cmcute about it. Seeing this, the king 
 quietly instructed his guards to take the disohedient 
 
 to a neighbouring wood, and cut off their hair in 
 such a icay that it should not grow again. The intelli- 
 gent servants, with a zeal worthy of such a master, 
 punctually obeyed these orders, for they cut oft' — their 
 heads ." 
 
 The mode of plaiting the hair seems the most pre- 
 valent in Africa ; for, according to Consul l'etherick, 
 we find it adopted, with a few exceptions, hy hoth sexes 
 over all tin- eastern part of that continent, from Mount 
 Sinai to the White Nile. Respecting the Hassanyeh 
 Arabs, who inhabit the latter locality, he says — "The 
 heads of men and women are dressed with equal care, 
 the hair of hoth being plaited, although not in a similar 
 manner, that of the man being drawn off' the forehead 
 towards the hack of the head, around which it hangs in 
 numerous plaits. The woman collects the plaits together 
 in hunches at each side of her face, and at the back of 
 her head, ornamenting them with coral, amber beads, 
 and little brass trinkets. Brass thimbles, perforated 
 through the top, and strung on a stout thread, sustained 
 by knots at regular distances above each other, and 
 suspended to the crown of the head, hanging down at. 
 the back of it. form a very favourite ornament, as also 
 do.s an old button or any little brass trinket over the 
 forehead. 2 
 
 O 9 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 W 
 
 ¥ 
 
 i 
 
 In Xubia, the hair, which is inclined to be woolly, is 
 plaited into a variety of forms, but generally close to 
 the head, fitting like a skull-cap, and hanging down in 
 thick masses of innumerable small plaits all round the 
 back and sides of the head. Another style is to plait 
 only the part next to the head, and have the ends 
 combed out and stiffened with a gummy solution, form- 
 ing a thick bushy circle round the head. This is a 
 verv elaborate sort of coiffure, which is only done once 
 or twice a month, as it takes a long time to budd up ; 
 and those who patronise it are obliged to sleep with 
 their head reclining on a small wooden stool, hollowed 
 out to fit the neck, so as not to 
 disarrange the precious edifice, 
 which shows that victims to fa- 
 shion are to be found even in 
 those remote parts. 1 
 
 Abyssinian ladies wear in their 
 hair ivory or wooden pins and 
 Abyssinian Lady. combs, neatly carved in various 
 
 patterns, and stained with henna. They also indulge in 
 a profusion of chaplets on their heads and -^=? 
 round their necks, and the most elegant 
 carry on their bosom a large flat silver 
 case containing scented cotton, which they 
 consider as a sort of amulet. 
 
 The Bedouin Arabs of Mount Sinai have 
 their hair plaited, and so arranged as to 
 form a protuberance resembling a horn placed low down 
 
 1 Kgypt, the Soudan, and Central Africa, by John Petherick. 
 
 (M 
 
 <? 
 
; 
 
 177 
 
 on the forehead and projecting two or three inches. 
 The girls wear on their heads a wreath of various 
 coloured beads, Id whieh are 
 suspended neatly-carved 03 Bter 
 shells, the latter being con- 
 sidered as a significant hint to 
 the young men of the tribe 
 that they have no objection to 
 alter their condition. This 
 may not be quite so poetical 
 as the language of flowers, but 
 still it is a great pity a similar 
 custom is not adopted in Eng- 
 land, as the sight of the oyster- Atyninian combs. 
 shell would naturally encourage timid young men to 
 " pop the quest ion." 
 
 In Upper Egypt, Arab perfumery and cosmetics are 
 extensively patronised by those who can afford them. 
 Musk, for scenting the clothes, and kohl, to darken the 
 eyelashes, are two indispensable items in the list of 
 presents sent to a bride by her intended ; and the latter, 
 with a praiseworthy regard tor the future wants of the 
 community, during a few days alter the marriage Bquats 
 on a mat at the door of the mosque, exhibiting his pre- 
 sents on a tray, and collecting alms from the faithful. 
 
 Going farther into the interior, the principal article 
 of perfumery (if if may be so called) we find in use, is a 
 sort of pomatum or butter, more or less scented, which 
 the natives generally keep in ostriches' eggs, and use 
 profusely, the most stylish thing being to put a pat on 
 
 1 
 
 K 
 
 
178 
 
 THE BOOK OF PEKFl MEN. 
 
 the head, and let it melt and run down the whole body. 
 Others apply this ointment to their heads or persons 
 with an ostrich's feather, which thev carry about 
 in a case made of a buffalo-horn. The specimen 
 of this singular toilet implement represented here, I 
 found in Mr. S. H. Berthoud's unique collection, and 
 is, I believe, the first that has been seen in Europe. 
 
 ':.., 
 
 African Anor_ 
 
 There is a very curious sort of bath used in Nubia 
 which deserves particular description. Consul Pethe- 
 riek relates that, having ordered a lath at Berbera, one 
 of the Xubian towns he visited, he was much surprised at 
 seeing a negro maid enter bearing a bowl and a teacup 
 as the sole apparatus required. The bowl contained 
 dough, and the cup a small quantity of sweet oil scent ed 
 with aromatic roots ; the former of these well rubbed 
 on the bare skin cleaned it thoroughly, after which the 
 perfumed oil was applied, to give elasticity to the limbs. 
 The whole operation, which is called dilka, is in great 
 favour with the natives ; and Mr. Petherick. who de- 
 clares he was much refreshed by it, attributes to its use 
 the entire absence of cutaneous diseases among these 
 people, and says it enables them to resist the cold and 
 
 hs^i 
 
¥ 
 
 uncivilized n \ noys 
 
 17!J 
 
 •■■• 
 
 Milting winds of winter with no other protection than 
 very lliiii clothing. 
 
 An aromatic fumigation replaces, in the Soudan, even 
 tliis very imperfect mod,. of bathing. In a hole, dug 
 in the ground by the aide of the bed, is placed an earthen 
 pot, in which is burned the odoriferous wood of the 
 tulloeh. lb* natives sit over this, covering themselves 
 closely with a thick woollen wrapper, and remain ex- 
 posed for about ten minutes to the cloud of fragrant 
 smoke, which causes intense perspiration, and is sup- 
 posed to exercise a tonic and beneficial influence on the 
 skm. Ladies who use this frequently become incrnsted 
 in time with an odoriferous enamel which is highly 
 prised and considered vm/ fast. 
 
 Even in the remotest wilds of Central Africa we find 
 people endeavouring to assist nature with art as far as 
 is compatible with their primitive minds. 
 
 The Nam Nam, a tribe in the far interior on the 
 equator, take great pains with their hair, which they 
 wear plaited in thick masses covering the neck, and 
 which they ornament with long ivory pins from six 
 inches to n foot in length. These pins are carved in 
 pretty patterns, and partly dyed with the decoction of 
 a root; they are inserted at the hark of the head, 
 long ones alternating with short ones, and forming a 
 
 semicircle, Somewhat similar to that worn by the pea- 
 sant gjris on the borders of the Lake of Como, the only 
 difference being that the Italian decoration is composed 
 
 of steel and gold pins. This is certainly a very curious 
 coincidence. 
 
 ■k 
 
 f 
 
 
 2? i 
 
■- 
 
 ^~^?^ 
 
 1-0 
 
 f^&^pgSf^l 
 
 THE LOOK OF l'EKFVilES. 
 
 The Dinkas dye their hair red, whilst the Djibbas, 
 who are a warlike people, pride themselves in inter- 
 weaving the hair of their fallen enemies with their 
 own, forming a thick tail, the length of which indicates 
 the valour of the wearer. 
 
 The greatest dandies, however, are the Griquas, who 
 smear themselves with grease and red ochre, whilst the 
 head is anointed with a blue pomatum made of mica. 
 The particles of shining mica falling on the body are 
 thought highly ornamental, and the mixture of colours 
 very attractive. 1 
 
 Taking a bold stride thence to the Philippine Islands, 
 we find the natives, who are called Tagals, pay the 
 greatest attention to their hair, which is long, black, 
 and glossy. The women wash it at least once a day 
 with a saponaceous grass called go-go, and anoint it 
 with cocoa-nut oil scented with the flowers of the 
 alangilan or san-paqulta. 
 
 Both men and women in the Loo-Choo Islands wear 
 their hair drawn up towards the crown, and worked up 
 into a sort of loop, which is ornamented with two pins. 
 The wealthy have these pins studded with precious 
 stones, and use the juice of an aromatic plant to en- 
 hance the natural brilliancy of their hair. 
 
 Javanese women greatly pride themselves on the 
 yellow complexions which nature has allotted to them. 
 It is the constant theme of their poets, who praise its 
 golden hue with as much fervour as ours do the roses 
 and lilies which distinguish our belles. Admiral Du- 
 1 Dr. Livingstone's Africa. 
 
 ' 
 
 

 ii 
 
 li; 
 
 mont d'Urvillc says they have recourse to yellow cos- 
 lm ins to keep ap the brilliancy of the favourite tint, 
 
 in the same way as rouge and white arc used here. 1 In 
 addition to this they blacken their teeth, and greatly 
 ridicule Europeans for the whiteness of theirs which, 
 according to their opinion, makes them look like monkeys. 
 
 In Australia the aborigines are worse than Esqui- 
 maux: to these tribes a bad smell is really a perfume, 
 so we will leave them alone. Yet the country produces 
 plenty of sweet-scented flowers and plants, and whole 
 forests of trees with fragrant leaves; 3 and who knows 
 but one day that fertile market for our manufactures 
 may in its turn furnish the world with essences and 
 cosmetics P When, in a few centuries, Lord Macaulay's 
 New Zealandar takes his stand on the nuns of London 
 Bridge, his handkerchief made of the fibres of the for- 
 minm tcnax will probably be redolent with the last new 
 scent by "Warranonga of the Murrumhidgee ! 
 
 Tattooing ranks among the chief personal adornments 
 with the Australian and Polynesian races. It might 
 almost be called an indelible form of cosmetic, for it 
 probably originated in facial painting; some savage of 
 enduring cuticle having conceived the idea of rendering 
 the colour permanent by driving it into the skin. New 
 Zealand bears, or used to bear, the palm in this art. 
 There the chiefs especially prided themselves on tin ele- 
 gant arabesques which decorated their physiognomies, 
 and hair and beard were willingly sacrificed to afford a 
 
 jSL 
 
 ToTnpc9 nutnur du mnmlc, par Pumont DTrville, vol. ii. p. 324. 
 Principally the Eucalyptus anil Helalau 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
better ground for the design. This operation, called 
 moho, was generally performed with a black powder 
 composed of the burnt resin of the kauri, which was 
 inserted into the skin by means of a small chisel made 
 of the bone of an albatross. The process is described at 
 full length by Mr. Taylor in his interesting work on 
 New Zealand. He says that to allay the pain caused 
 by it the artist used to sing to his patients songs, of 
 which he gives the following curious specimen : — 
 
 '• He who pays well let him be 
 Beautifully ornamented ; 
 But he who forgets the operator 
 
 Let hira be done carelessly : 
 Be the lines wide apart. 
 hiki Tangaroa ! 
 Strike that the chisel as it cuts 
 
 Along may sound : 
 Men do not know the skill of the operator 
 In driving his chisel along. 
 hiki Tangaroa!" 
 
 The delicate allusion contained in these lines shows that 
 artists in their poetical effusions always had "an eye to 
 business," and thought it necessary to remind their 
 patrons that beauty, like everything else, must be paid 
 for. The gentler sex had likewise recourse to this mode 
 of embellishment, but the tattooing was only executed 
 on the lips and chin, with an arch little curl at the 
 corner of the eye by way of an accrochc ca'itr. 
 
 Embalming seems also to have been practised by Xew 
 Zealanders, but was confined to the heads of cherished 
 relations, which, after taking out the brain, were stuffed 
 with flowers, baked in ovens, and finally dried in the 
 sun. These heads were kept in baskets carefully made 
 
 * 
 
 -. 
 
 -J^s 
 
 
m 
 
 l M l\ [LIZES NATIONS. 
 
 18:} 
 
 and scented with oil. They wen brought out on grand 
 occasions, ornamented with leathers, and cried over by 
 all the family. 
 
 The most extraordinary and fantastical coiffures are 
 perhaps to be found among the Feejee Islanders. Not 
 satisfied with twisting their locks into every conceivable 
 shape, th y vary their sable appearance by dyeing them 
 in sundry colours, such as blue, white, red, and yellow. 
 Among young people bright crimson and flaxen are the 
 favourite hues; but the most fashionable style is to 
 combine several shades in the same head-dress. Thus 
 Some wear a spherical mass of jet-black hair with a 
 white band in front as broad as the hand; or a white 
 oblong occupies the length of the head, the black hair 
 passing down on either side; whilst others have a large 
 red roll or a sand} - projection falling on the neck ; and 
 others, again, work fancy devices on their hair, dividing 
 it into squares or cones of different hues. I humbly 
 submit this notion to ladies fond of novelties, and am 
 certain that such a chequered head-dress would create 
 quite a sensation in one of our drawing-rooms. Hair- 
 dyeswe are well acquainted with; and that some of 
 them are apt to produce varied shades, from a lively 
 pea-green to a soft violet, is no secref to those who use 
 them: but, with our anti-Feejean prejudices, we have 
 considered this circumstance hitherto rather as a mis- 
 fortune than a matter of ornament. 
 
 The natives of Duke of fork's [sland are also partial 
 to hair of divers hues; but they attain their purpose 
 without dyeing it, by simply inaitrHig it with grease 
 
 
 
 
 
 \!i>- 
 
 
 
 F* 
 

 -. 
 
& -M 
 .-*" 
 
 s n ' • 
 
 );■ 
 
 UNCIYILIZBD nations. 
 
 185 
 
 black locks as elderly Europeans in blackening their 
 white ones. 
 
 At Nooka-hiva, the principal of the Marquesas Islands, 
 both sexes anoint themselves freely with sweetly-scented 
 cocoa-nut oil, and the most refined use as a substitute 
 the juice of the papa, which is supposed to whiten the 
 skin and preserve its smoothness. The women bestow 
 particular care on their hair, which they ornament with 
 
 long carved pins : they also wear ear-rings, generally 
 formed of fish bones. The accompanying specimens are 
 from Mr. Berthoud's collection, as well as the comb 
 from the Solomon Islands, which is made of the teeth 
 of the sea-elephant (Tric/iec/ius). 
 
 Last, not least, we must mention Tahiti, the Queen of 
 the Pacific, where the natives, and especially the women, 
 have always paid great attention to their personal ap- 
 pearance. Since their contact with Europeans they 
 have adopted many of their customs, and they are not 
 
 Ms* 
 
 
 %r'f- 
 
 f 
 
 1 
 
V 
 
 aa 
 
 the book of pekfijiks. 
 
 now the same as described by Captain Cook and as 
 represented in the frontispiece to this chapter ; but 
 still they have preserved some of their original habits, 
 which are worth noticing. 
 
 The Tahitian women are generally tall and well 
 made ; they have fine eyes and teeth, and beautiful 
 long hair, to which they devote great care. They 
 wash it daily, anoint it with a pomatum called morw'i, 
 made of cocoa-nut oil, scented with sandal-wood or 
 toromeo root, and plait it in long braids, which hang 
 down their back. Sometimes they work it up into a sort 
 of diadem, ornamented with odoriferous flowers called 
 mairi, or with the deliciously-scented blossoms of the 
 Tiare, a sort of jasmine. The rera-rew, formed of cocoa- 
 nut tree fibre, is another favourite head-dress with 
 them, and very elegant crowns are also made with the 
 arrow-root straw or pia. Specimens of some of these 
 coiffures are exhibited at the Colonial Museum in Paris, 
 and are extremely graceful. 
 
 Crossing over now to America, and commencing with 
 the southern extremity, we find a curious custom re- 
 corded by Captain Cook as existing then in Terra del 
 Fuego, and in all probability the same is still in vogue. 
 The natives of that country paint themselves all over 
 with red and white, the red forming patches on the 
 chest and shoulders, and the white long streaks on the 
 arms and legs. With a little white round the eyes, 
 and a long bone passed through the cartilage of the 
 nose, their toilet is considered complete. 
 
 The South American Indians generally have long 
 
 il 
 
 u* 
 
v Hfi£ 
 
 
 VM'1\ Il.I/.Kl) N \ I IONS. 
 
 L87 
 
 black hair, which they wear loose on their shoulders. 
 The women plait theirs behind with a ribbon, and cut 
 it in front a little above the eyebrows from one ear to 
 the other. The gr eates t disgrace that can be inflicted 
 upon Indians of either sex is to cut off their hair; they 
 will put up with any corporal punishment in preference, 
 and such a measure is consequently limited to the most 
 enormous crimes. They are nearly all very fond of 
 perfumes, but, although their soil abounds in aromatic 
 materials, tluy generally resort to our European pro- 
 ductions. There is, however, a native perfume men- 
 tioned by Mr. "Wallace as being very exquisite and in 
 meat repute on the Rio Negro. It is called umari, and 
 is extracted from the hummurn floribundum by means 
 of a very singular process; this consists in lifting the 
 bark and inserting under it pieces of cotton wool to 
 imbibe gradually the scent which is expressed from 
 them at the end of a month. 1 
 
 We shall now conclude our long ramble with the 
 North American Indians, and briefly describe their 
 mode of face- paint in g, an art in which they certainly 
 are unrivalled. From all accounts of travellers who 
 have visited the Redskins, no dowager of the aiicicn 
 ri-'jimc, rougeing and patching for the opera or ball, ever 
 spent so much time at her toilet as a Sioux or a Pawnee 
 getting his face up for an excursion either of a warlike 
 or a peaceful nature. 
 
 Mr. Murray, speaking of the son of B chief call d Sa- 
 in-tea-rish, says that he never saw any dandy to equal 
 1 Travels on the Anns ' ro,bj A B Wallace. 
 
 A: { 
 
 
ur 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 him for vanity. He usually commenced his toilet at 
 eio-ht o'clock in the morning, and it was not concluded 
 until a late hour ; after having greased his whole person 
 with fat to serve as a ground for the paint, and drawn 
 a few streaks on his head and body, he kept looking at 
 himself in a bit of mirror he carried with him, and 
 ~Mj altering the lines until they happened to please him. 
 
 Some pretend that there is a certain symbolism in 
 the various colours they use ; thus, for instance, red 
 typifies joy, and black mourning. In this latter par- 
 ticular they exhibit some resemblance to ourselves, the 
 difference being that, instead of assuming a sable garb 
 when they lose a relative, they rub their face over with 
 charcoal. The subdued tints of half-mourning they re- 
 present with a trellis-work of black-lines over the face, 
 or sometimes they paint one-half of their face black, as 
 we do the ground of our family escutcheons. Fortu- 
 nately they are not addicted to frequent ablutions, or 
 their mourning would be of short duration. 
 
 % 
 
 1 
 
 

 

 n our own 
 [.' Europe, 
 'i and trace 
 - I ii mi the 
 earliest 
 times the 
 _ of the art 
 vH&^&ir* •- -.vliicli forms our 
 subject, principally in England, France, and Italy, with 
 
 /, 
 
 .•- / 
 
 

 
 THE HOOK OK PEKFl MES. 
 
 respect to which countries our information is most 
 complete. 
 
 The toilet of the ancient inhabitants of Britain some- 
 what resembled that of the North American Indians, 
 and consisted in a series of elaborate paintings on the 
 whole surface of the body, which was no doubt ori- 
 ginally intended to protect the skin against the in- 
 clemencies of the weather, but which was afterwards 
 used as a mode of embellishment and a means of dis- 
 tinguishing the different conditions ; for it was reserved 
 to freemen, and strictly forbidden to slaves. 1 The com- 
 mon people only indulged in small designs, drawn at a 
 distance from each other, whilst the nobility had the 
 privilege of ornamenting their persons with large figures, 
 chiefly of animals, which were subsequently transferred 
 to their shields when they adopted a less scanty cos- 
 tume. This may be looked upon as the origin of 
 family arms, which the Japanese, who probably com- 
 menced in the same way, now wear embroidered on 
 their dress. 
 
 The Picts who inhabited the North of Britain, were 
 the most remarkable for their pictorial decorations, 
 whence they derived their name. 2 The Gauls and the 
 Germans dyed their breasts red before going to fight, 
 so that the enemy could not see the blood flowing from 
 their wounds. Among the various colouring substances 
 then in use, Julius Gesar mentions icoad (Isatis Tinc- 
 toria), with which the Britons gave a bluish cast to 
 their skins, and made themselves look dreadful in battle. 
 
 1 Pclautier, " Ilistoire des Celtes." * Ticti, "painted." 
 
 01i^% 
 
 
 
Mm 
 
 r N 
 
 
 
 
 FKOM A.NCII'.NT TO MODEMS TIMES. 
 
 191 
 
 Pliny also speaks of a sort of plantain called Glastrum, 
 by means of which the Gauls and Britons stained their 
 laces and lwdies. 1 
 
 Hair-dyes were already known even at that early 
 period, for Diodorus Siculus says that the Britons, who 
 naturally possessed red hair, endeavoured all they could 
 to make it redder by art, which they accomplished by 
 washing it repeatedly in water boiled with lime. 
 
 The Druids left no written record of their customs, but, 
 from contemporaneous accounts, they do not appear to 
 have used perfumes in their mode of worship, which 
 was of the most primitive description. They knew, 
 however, and highly prized, the numerous aromatic 
 plants indigenous to their soil. Druidesses crowned 
 their brows with verbena, and composed with fragrant 
 herbs mysterious balms, which cured the heroes' wounds 
 and enhanced the charms of the fair. 
 
 The Roman conquest brought into Gaul and Britain 
 the civilised manners of the conquerors. Body pamtmg 
 and rude ornaments were laid aside and exchanged 
 for graceful costumes and elaborate cosmetics, and the 
 provinces soon equalled the metropolis in elegance and 
 refinement The various toilet implements and splendid 
 baths of that epoch, discovered by excavations in Franc.' 
 
 and in England, bear witness fo the high state of luxury 
 which existed then in those countries. This, however, 
 lasted but a time, and with the Roman dominion ended 
 
 this transient gleam, for all relapsed into darkness with 
 successive invasions. 
 
 1 l'liny's Nat Ili-t Ism cap i 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 MM 
 
 "A 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 From that period to the Crusades, the principal re- 
 cords of perfumes we find in history are connected with 
 the church or the court, for they were then too costly 
 to be used much in private life. In the year 496, when 
 Clovis, the first Christian king of France, was baptised 
 at Rheims, incense was burned, and fragrant tapers 
 were lighted, for that ceremony. 
 
 That incense was also known to the Anglo-Saxons 
 appears by the following riddle translated from the 
 Exeter Book : — 
 
 "lam much sweeter than incense or the rose 
 That so pleasantly on the earth's turf grows ; 
 More delicate am I than the lily, 
 Though dear to mankind that flower may he." l 
 
 Hugh the Great, father of Hugh Capet, having asked 
 in marriage the sister of King Athelstan, sent, among 
 other presents, as the Makuesbury Chronicles inform 
 us, such perfumes as had never been seen in England. 
 Charlemagne was also a great lover of scents, and at 
 his brilliant court at Aix-la-Chapelle they were in 
 constant request. 
 
 Carpets were not known then, but they used to strew 
 on the floor, in the houses of the great, sweet rushes, 2 
 which spread a pleasant fragrance through the atmo- 
 sphere. "When William the Conqueror was born in 
 Normandy, where that custom prevaUed, at the very 
 moment when the infant burst into life and touched 
 the ground, he filled both hands with the rushes on the 
 floor, firmly grasping what he had taken up. This was 
 
 1 Exeter Book. p. 423. ' Probably the calamut aromatieu*. 
 
 %~ 
 

"^r<> 
 
 
 FROM Wciint TO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 193 
 
 i> 
 
 hailed as a propitious omen, and the persons present 
 declared the boy would be a king. 1 This custom of 
 strewing sweet rushes was still in vogue in England 
 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and Shakspeare 
 frequently alludes to it in bis plays. 
 
 Embalming was sometimes practised in those days, 
 and in Eadmer's life of St. Anselm we find the body 
 of the saint was anointed with balsam after his death. - 
 
 After the Crusades, perfumes came into more c 
 us-'. The gallant knights brought home to their lady 
 loves some of the far-famed perfumes of the East, and 
 
 specimens of the w lerful cosmetics by mi ana of which 
 
 the beauties of the harem preserved their charms; and 
 among the costly presents offered to St. Louis, King of 
 France, rare and precious aromaties formed a conspi- 
 cuous part. Rose-water was also introduced about that 
 time, and it became the custom to offer it to guests in 
 noblemen's houses to wash their hands with after meals 
 — a very necessary ablution, if we consider that forks, 
 which were invented in Italy during the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, were not known in England until the reign of 
 James I., and were then considered a great piece "I 
 foppery. Ma til d a, queen of Henry I., received from 
 Prance, as a present, a beautiful silver peacock, with a 
 tram set in pearls and precious steins, which was in- 
 tended t. >contain rose- water and to be placed on the table 
 lor tin' above-mentioned purpose. Mathieu de Coucy 
 
 also relates in his Chronicles, that, at a grand banquet 
 
 given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, there 
 
 at Malmesbury, p. 299. 3 Eadmer, Vita 8. Aiuelmi, p. 893. 
 
 £-> 
 
 ' . 
 
 
 I 
 
 ^ ' 
 
 14c — <sX_. 
 
THK BOOK OF PEKFVMES. 
 
 stood on the sideboard the statue of a child, from which 
 issued a jet of rose-water. 
 
 Perfumers had already sprung into commercial ex- 
 istence in France in the twelfth century, for Philip 
 Augustus granted them in the year 1190 a charter, 
 which was confirmed by John in 13-37, and afterwards by 
 Henry III., in 1582. That charter was for the last 
 time renewed and enlarged by Louis XIY. in 16-38. 
 It was then requisite to serve tour years as apprentice, 
 and three years as companion, to be elected master 
 perfumer, which shows that it was considered a handi- 
 craft of some importance. 
 
 In a manuscript of the 
 thirteeenth century, pre- 
 served in the British Mu- 
 seum, 1 we find the annexed 
 illustration of a lady at her 
 toilet, which may convey 
 some idea of the manner in 
 
 A Lady at her"] . . 
 
 winch those duties were 
 
 performed. Early morn was the time chosen for that 
 
 important task by the fair of the period, as we read in 
 
 the romance of " Alisaunder :" — 
 
 " In a niorctyde- Lit was, 
 Theo dropes hongyn in the srras ; 
 Thco maydenes lokyn in the glas 
 For to tyffen 3 licare f.\<." 
 
 The moralists and satirists of that age reproach the 
 
 ladies with paying too much attention to their personal 
 
 1 MS. Addit., Xo. 10,293, fol. 266. : Morning. 
 
 3 Adorn, from the French attiffcr. 
 
 M 
 
 V 
 
 g 
 
 ^v - • 
 

 ' 
 
 fo 
 
 IKciM \N( UN I 111 MOUKK.N TIMES. 
 
 L95 
 
 embellishments, and with deforming their bodies with 
 stayB, which were introduced about that time. They 
 are also accused of painting their faces, dyeing their 
 locks, and plucking out superfluous hair. 
 
 Our ancestors were very fond of flowers, which they 
 used to decorate their persons as well as to ornament 
 their gardens. Like the ancient Ghreeks and Romans, 
 they wore Oil their heads, at all their entertainments, 
 wreaths of flowers called in the French of that period, 
 chapelt or aipirk. In the Romance of " Perce-Forest," 
 :. ir, describing a festival, Bays, "avoiri chascun 
 et ohascune on chapel de roses sur son chief." 1 These 
 words clearly denote that even the dark sex indulged 
 
 in this floral head-gear, which, when coupled with a 
 
 rubicund uose and a 
 
 " l'air round Wily, with good capon lined," 
 
 must have produced a very pretty effect. 
 
 '7. ~ ■ i 
 
 Ladies making Gu 
 
 The task of culling flowers for garlands was generally 
 
 entrusted to ladies, and the above engraving, taken 
 En ry iii.in and every woman hail rosc-wnaths on their heads. 
 

 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUME? 
 
 from a manuscript in the British Museum, 1 represents 
 them engaged in this charming occupation. Thus is 
 Emelie described by Chaucer in his " Knight's Tale :" 
 
 '• TTire yolwe liter w.u lir ■wdid : in a tresse, 
 Byhynde hire bat, a yerde long, I gesse. 
 And in the gardyn at the sonne upriste, 5 
 Sche walketh up and donn wheer as hire liste ; 
 | [ trrye whyte and reed, 
 To make a certevn gerland for hire hoede." 
 
 ■Jean de Dammartin, in "Blonde of Oxford," finds like- 
 wise his mistress in a meadow making flower wreaths. 
 
 " A dont de la chambre j'avance 
 De la le vit en i-prael 
 
 U ele foisoit u:i cap: 
 
 Perfumery did not foim then a separate branch of 
 trade in England. It was generally sold by mercers, 
 who also combined with that trade the sale of a 
 variety of toilet implements, such as combs, mirrors, 
 fillets for the head, etc. \Ve find them mentioned in 
 a very curious manuscript entitled the "Pilgrim," 5 
 wherein a lady who keeps a mercery shop thus 
 enumerates the different articles in which she deals : — 
 
 " Qu"d 6 sche, ' Geve : I schal the telle, 
 rye I have to selle ; 
 In boystes soote oynemenris 8 
 Therewith to don allegemenris ; 9 
 I have knyves, phylletys, c.illys, 
 At rTeestes to hang upon wallys ; 
 Kombes rao than nyne or ten, 
 Both ffor horse and eke for men ; 
 
 - also, large and brode. 
 And ffor the syght wonder gnde." " 
 
 1 M.S. Eel. 2 B. vii. : Her yellow hair was braided. s At sunrise. 
 
 4 Advancing from the room, I see her in a meado« making a chaplet. 
 
 5 MS. Cotton. Til.criu> A. vii. I If. 
 
 s In boxes sweet ointments. 
 " Give relief, fnm the French donner alligement. 
 
 m 
 
 .1 
 
 aoi 
 
'J 
 
 
 1 
 
 in 
 
 
 FROM \NtlI.M TO MODBRN TIMES. 
 
 L97 
 
 The accompanying cut, taken from the same manu- 
 script, represents the mercer's shop, with some of the 
 articles described The fair trader is offering to the 
 pilgrim a flattering mirror, in which people Bee them- 
 selves handsomer than (hey are, but it is indignantly 
 rejected by the pious man. 
 
 F 
 
 A Mediaeval Forfomer's Shop. 
 
 Alcoholic perfumes do nol appear to have been known 
 until the fourteenth century, and the tirst we find men- 
 tioned is Hungary water, so called because it WB8 firsi 
 prepared in the year 1370 by Queen Elizabeth of 
 Eungary, who had the recipe from a hermit, and 
 became bo beautiful through the use of it, that her 
 hand was asked in marriage at the age of st renty-two 
 by the kin-; of Poland. This story, which is taken 
 from an old hook published at Frankfort in 1689, i> 
 
 m 
 
 
1 
 
 related by Beekmann, 1 who devotes a whole chapter to 
 the subject, but ends by doubting its accuracy — a most 
 ungallant conclusion, for he ought not to question the 
 captivating powers possessed by ladies of any age, with 
 or without the aid of Hungary water. 
 
 The fifteenth century, that brilliant cinque cento, of 
 which Italy is justly proud, saw the revival of the fine 
 arts on that classical ground. The palaces of its princely 
 merchants teemed with luxuries of every description, 
 among which perfumery was, as usual, called to play 
 its part. Venice, from its early intercourse with Con- 
 stantinople, was one of the first to introduce the fra- 
 grant treasures of the East. In the course of time 
 cosmetics were also adopted by its patrician dames, who, 
 not content with the charms which nature had lavished 
 upon them, sought to enhance them by artificial means. 
 The first book on this subject appeared in the sixteenth 
 century, under- the auspices of Countess Nani, 3 and 
 contained many curious recipes, among which were 
 some for dyeing the hair of that beautiful shade called 
 capellifila d'oro. 3 As my fair readers may wish to know 
 how this was accomplished, I shall mention one of these 
 preparations, which consisted of two pounds of alum, 
 six ounces of black sulphur, and four ounces of honey, 
 distilled together with water. Ccsare Ycccllio, the 
 cousin of Titian, in his interesting work, Degli habili 
 antichi e moderni, explains how this water was applied. 
 Ladies repaired to the terraces on the tops of their 
 
 w 
 
1 
 
 m 
 
 ? '; 
 
 & : 
 
 
 n;ii\l \MIKNT TO ItOEEBS TIMES. 
 
 199 
 
 booses, waked their hairwell with the preparation, and 
 remained sitting there for hours, to lei the sun well fix 
 
 the colour >»• Tlu '. v wate "" ,1 "' ir , "' a,ls a ,: "' UM ' Mr; " v 
 hat without a crown, called solana, to protecl their 
 complexions, and allowed their hair to ban- round over 
 
 
 r,a che si (a biondi i 
 
 the rim until it wae completely dry. The above 
 illustration, copied from hia 1 k, will show how it 
 
 was done. It is generally supposed that those beautiful 
 
 G 
 
 G 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFIMES. 
 
 golden locks which arc so much admired in the paint- 
 ings of the Venetian artists of the period were acquired 
 iu that manner, for they are seldom to be met with 
 among the modern population. 
 
 When Catherine de Medicis came to France to marry 
 Henry II., she brought with her a Florentine named 
 Rene, who was very expert in preparing perfumes and 
 cosmetics. His shop on Pont au Change became the 
 rendezvous for the beaux and belles of the period, 
 and from that time perfumery came into general use 
 among the wealthy. This Rene also possessed the art 
 of preparing subtle poisons, and his royal mistress is 
 said to have had frequent recourse to his talents to get 
 rid of her enemies. Among her victims the historians 
 mention Jeanne d'Albret, mother of Henry IV., and 
 state that she was poisoned by wearing some perfumed 
 gloves presented to her by Catherine ; but modern 
 chemists doubt whether it was possible to poison any 
 one by such means. 
 
 In public festivals it became the custom to perfume 
 fountains ; and in the year 1548 the city of Paris paid 
 the sum of six golden crowns to Georges Marteau 
 " pour herbes et plautes de senteur pour embaumer Ies 
 eaux des fontaines publiques lors des derniers csbatte- 
 ments." l 
 
 Under the reign of that effeminate monarch, Henry 
 III., the abuse of perfumes became so great that it was 
 denounced by the satirists of the period ; and, among 
 
 ' For aromatic herbs and plants, to perfume the waters of public foun- 
 tains during the late rejoicings. 
 
 
m 
 
 m 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 FROM INCIENT TO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 201 
 
 others, Nicolas do JMontaut, in liis "Miroir dee Francois" 
 i L582) reproaclio.s ladies with using "all sorts of per- 
 fumes, cordial waters, rivet, musk, ambergris, and other 
 precious aramatios to perfume their clothes and linen, 
 and even their whole bodies." 
 
 The earliest French perfumery book that I have met 
 with is entitled " Les secrets de Maistrc Alexys Le 
 l'iediniiiitois," ' and contains some curious recipes for 
 making pomatum with apples, 8 pomanders against the 
 plague, "oiselets oduiilcraiits" for burning in apart- 
 ments, paste for perfuming gloves, and various hair 
 dyes and cosmetics. To give some idea of the state of 
 the art at that period, I shall quote the following 
 formula for preparing a marvellous water, warranted 
 to make ladies " beautiful for ever." 
 
 "Take a young raven from the nest, feed it on hard 
 eggs for forty days, kill it, and distil it with myrtle 
 Leaves, talc, and almond oil." 
 
 This is a fair specimen of the whole, which strongly 
 savours of the still prevalent delusions of alchemy, and 
 bears no little refiemblance to the recipes quoted in 
 chapter VIII. as being still used by the Arabs. 
 
 Perfumes did not come into general use in England 
 until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Howes, who con- 
 tinued Btowe's chronicle, tells us that they could not 
 make any costly wash or perfume in this country until 
 
 aboui the fourteenth <>r fifteenth year of the queen, 
 
 1 The ~' eon In of Master All \i-. thi Pi dmonb » 
 - Pomatum was iir>t prep a red from apples, whence it demee in 
 name. 
 
3 
 
 £02 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 ^ 
 
 m 
 
 ^r? 
 
 when the Right Honourable Edward de Vere, Earl of 
 Oxford, came from Italy and brought with him gloves, 
 sweet bags, a perfumed leather jerkin, and other pleasant 
 things; and that year the queen had a pair of perfumed 
 gloves, trimmed only with four tufts or rows of coloured 
 silk. She took such pleasure in these gloves that she 
 was pictured with them upon her hands, and for many 
 years afterwards it was called the " Earl of Oxford's 
 perfume." On another occasion, Queen Elizabeth, 
 visiting the University of Cambridge, was presented 
 with a pair of perfumed gloves, and was so delighted 
 with them that she put them on at once. She also 
 usually carried with her a pomander (or pom me d'ambre), 
 which was a ball composed of ambergris, benzoin, and 
 other perfumes ; and she was once mightily pleased 
 with the gift of a "faire gyrdle of pomander," which 
 was a series of pomanders strung together and worn 
 round the neck. These pomanders were held in the 
 hand, to smell occasionally, and were supposed to 
 be preservatives from infection. They were very 
 generally used, as may be seen from the portraits 
 of the period. Their exact ingredients arc thus de- 
 scribed in an old play : — " Your only way to make a 
 good pomander is this : Take an ounce of the finest 
 garden mould, cleaned and steeped seven days in change 
 of rose-water ; then take the best labdanum, benzoin, 
 both storaxes, ambergris, civet, and musk ; incorporate 
 them together, and work them into what form you 
 please. This, if your breath be not too valiant, will 
 make vou smell as sweet as anv ladv's doa-." 
 
 $*C "% 
 

 
 FROM \MU:.\T TO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 203 
 
 Drayton, in hie "Queen of Cynthia," also alludes to. 
 pomanders in the following lines : — 
 
 "And when Bhe from (he wain oame, 
 When first Bhe touched the mould, 
 In balls the people made the same 
 For pomanders, and sold." 
 Some of these pomanders consisted in globular vessels 
 containing strong perfume, and perforated with small 
 holes, not unlike our modern pocket cassolettes. The 
 earliest illustration of this favourite toilet requisite 
 occurs in the " Boal of Foolish Women,"' a series of 
 the caricatures published by Jodocus Badius in 1502, 
 
 and intended to flagellate the abuse made of the live 
 
 The Boat of Foolish Smells. 
 
 senses. The above engraving represents the "Boat 
 of Foolish Smells," 2 in which are three ladies, one of 
 whom is holding some flowers she has gathered, and 
 smelling at the same time a pomander which her friend 
 lias bought from an itinerant vendor of perfumes. 
 a Patuaram Mulierum. : h« ■ Uaetionis -' 
 
 (v C= 
 
 rL 
 
 I 
 
r^ v 'i 
 
 lOOK OF PERFUMES 
 
 Tlie principal perfumes used in those times were 
 very strong. Musk and civet were the basis of most 
 preparations, and wc find them often mentioned by 
 Sliakspearc. In " Much Ado About Nothing," speaking 
 of Benedick, Pedro says, " Nay, he rubs himself with 
 civet : can you smell him out by that ? — that's as much 
 as to say the sweet youth's in love." In the "Merry 
 Wives of Windsor," Mrs. Quickly, enumerating to Fal- 
 staff all the presents made to Mrs. Ford, says, "Letter 
 after letter, gift after gift, smelling so sweetly, all musk." 
 With all due deference to our immortal bard, I doubt 
 very much if a modern swain, resorting to the same 
 means to press his suit, would find them succeed with 
 the object of his affections ; for musk and civet used 
 alone are anything but agreeable, and would be more 
 likely to affect the head than the heart. 
 
 The Eastern fashion of sprinkling rose-water over 
 the clothes seems to have been prevalent at that period ; 
 for in one of Marston's plays a young gallant enters 
 with a casting bottle of sweet water in his hand, 
 sprinkling himself; and in another part he says, "As 
 sweet and neat as a barber's casting bottle." 1 Ford, in 
 a play called "The Fairies," also mentions the same 
 toilet implement. One of his dramatis fiersonm comes 
 in sprinkling his hair and face with a casting bottle, 
 and carrying a little looking-glass in his girdle, setting 
 his countenance. 
 
 The floors of the apartments were also perfumed either 
 with sweet rushes or with scented waters. In "Dr. 
 
 1 Marston : Antonio anil Mallida," Intr. 
 
'^•J 
 
 h 
 
 
 FROM AM'lliN I CO MODKK.N TIMES. 
 
 Faustus" an old play by Harlow, Pride enters, savin-. 
 "Bye, what a smell is here ! I'll not speak another word 
 tor a king's ransom, unless the ground is perfumed." 
 Even in churches this used to be the ease ; but in sum- 
 mer they generally strewed flowers in the pews, instead 
 of scents. In "ApiuS and Virginia," a play of that 
 period, wc find the following illustration of this habit : 
 
 " Them knave, but for thee ere this time (rf day 
 
 My tally's lair pew bad been strewed full gay 
 Willi primroses, cowslips, and! rioleti sweet, 
 
 With mints, anil with marygolil, ami marjoram meet, 
 
 Which no«- lvcth uncleanly, and all along of thee," 
 This custom is still in TOgue in Spain and Portugal, 
 where the floor of churches is generally strewn in sum- 
 mer with lavender and rosemary. 
 
 Perfumes were likewise used to burn in rooms, and 
 to fumigate sheets. " Now are the lawn sheets fumed 
 with violets," says Marston in "What You Will." In 
 "Much Ado About Nothing," Borachio, being asked 
 how he came into the palace, answers, " Being enter- 
 tained for a perfumer, as I was smoking a musty 
 room," etc. ; and Strypc, in his "Life of Sir J. Cheke," 
 mentions that he sent for a "perfume pan" for his 
 apartments. 1 
 
 Burton, in his "Anatomy of Melancholy," says, 
 "The smoke of juniper is in gnat request with us to 
 sweeten our chambers;" and in Hen Jonson we find, 
 -lie doth sacrifice twopence in juniper to her ever] 
 morning before she rises, to sweeten the room by 
 burning it." 
 
 i Strype'i " Lift of Sir J. Chake," p. M. fc* t'' 1 ''- 
 
 _".. 
 
 
 'S=' 
 
 
y*^ 
 
 M. 
 
 g*g 
 
 i?KT-> 
 
 Perfumed bellows were another device resorted to for 
 
 producing a fragrant atmosphere, andBichelieu, who was 
 
 a great Sybarite, made use of them in his apartments. 
 
 Ford, in one of his plays, thus alludes to this custom : — 
 
 " I'll breathe as gently 
 As a perfumed pair of sucking bellows 
 In some sweet lady's chamber." 
 
 Scented gloves were then usually sold by milliners or 
 haberdashers, and various fragrant herbs were kept by 
 apothecaries, who in London mostly dwelt in Buek- 
 lersbury, which accounts for Shakspcare's expression, 
 " Smelling as sweet as Bucklersbury in simpling time." 
 This fragrant herb business included all aromatics then 
 in use, such as rosemary, which, singularly enough, was 
 used at weddings as well as funerals, and divers woods 
 for burning, as Beaumont and Fletcher have it in " Wit 
 without Money : " — 
 
 " Selling rotten wood by the pound, like spices, 
 Winch gentlemen often burn by the ounces." 
 
 Numerous hawkers also travelled the country, and 
 attended country fairs, where they offered their sundry 
 wares, like Autolycus in the ''"Winter's Tale:" — 
 
 " Gloves as sweet as damask roses 
 Masks for faces and for noses, 
 Bugle bracelet, necklace amber, 
 Perfume tor a lady's chamber." 
 
 In the reign of Charles I., perfumes were exten- 
 sively used as preservatives from the plague ; and 
 among the various specifics devised by the doctors of 
 that period a curious one is mentioned by Rushworth, 
 which consisted in eating a roasted apple stuffed with 
 
 
 '- 
 
 %=, 
 
^ :V 
 
 
 a 
 
 * 
 
 
 : 
 
 
 tk: 
 
 S& 
 
 KIIOM INI IKK1 TO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 207 
 
 frankincense, which was recommended as a certain cure. 
 Whether it were or not, I will not presume to say; but 
 the prophylactic properties of scents cannot be denoted, 
 
 and as late as the last century, medical practitioners 
 carried on the top of their walking-sticks a little casso- 
 lette tilled with aromatics, which they held up to their 
 nose when they had to visit any contagious cases. 
 
 The art of facial adornment does not appear to have 
 been far advanced at that time. We may quote as a 
 specimen an extract from the " Poems and Fancies" of 
 
 the Duchess of Newcastle, who recommends the teeth 
 
 to be cleaned with "china, brick, or the Ufa," and says 
 
 it is customary to pull up the edges of the eyebrows by 
 
 the roots, leaving none but a thin row, and to remove 
 the first skin off the face with oil of vitriol, that a new 
 skin may come iu its place — a very strange way, cer- 
 tainly, of improving the complexion. 
 
 During the Commonwealth, perfumery shared the 
 Gate of all articles of luxury, and was discarded by- 
 strict Puritans; but at the restoration of Charles II., 
 " the Merry Monarch," it wafl again in favour with his 
 brilliant court. It became then customary for all ladies 
 of fashion to paint their faces, and wear patches, which 
 
 were supposed to add piquancy to the features, but 
 
 which also served sometime- to conceal some disfigure- 
 ment, as Pepys in his Diary represents the Duchess 'f 
 Newcastle "wearing many black patches because if 
 pimples about her mouth."' Seme of these patches 
 vcre of the most extraordinary shapes, such as sun-. 
 1 Pepyt 1 Diary, 26th April, 1687. 
 
%il 
 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 moons, 
 bras:" 1 
 
 208 THE BOOS OF PERFUMES. 
 
 stars, etc., as Butler has it in his " Hudi- 
 
 " Tlie sun and moon, by her bright eyffi 
 Eclipsed and darken'd in the ski. s. 
 Are but black patches that she wears, 
 
 Cut into suns, and moons, and stars." 
 
 The annexed illustration, taken from an engraving of 
 the period, represents a lady who, in addition to the 
 above, had adorned her coun- 
 tenance with a coach and 
 /torses/ This custom became 
 so prevalent, that Grammont 
 says in his memoirs that you 
 were always sure to find 
 rouge and patches on a 
 lady's toilet. 
 
 It was also the fashion 
 
 , then for both sexes to blacken 
 
 '\, ^l|p^ a4T^ \ \ the eyebrows, as we find in 
 
 Shadwell's " Humourists " — 
 
 "Be sure if your eyebrows 
 
 are not black, to black 'em soundly. Ab ! your black 
 
 eyebrow is your fashionable eyebrow. I hate rogues 
 
 that wear eyebrows that are out of fashion." 
 
 Hair-powder was introduced towards the end of the 
 sixteenth century, probably by some person who had 
 turned prematurely grey, and, like the fox who had 
 lost his tail in the trap, wanted others to assume the 
 same appearance. This fashion seems to have become 
 extensively patronised, if we may judge from the 
 2 "Hudibras," part ii.. canto 1. 
 

 THE BOOK OF FKRFUMES. 
 
 cratic footmen. It certainly imparts a degree of soft- 
 ness to the features, but must be very inconvenient to 
 apply, as may be judged by the preceding engraving, 
 of the time of Louis XV. 
 
 The following quotation from the " Virtuoso/' anothei 
 of Shadwell's plays, enumerates the various articles 
 which formed then the complete stock of a perfumer : 
 "I have choice good gloves, Amber, Orangery, Genoa, 
 Romane, Frangipane, Neroly, Tuberose, Jessamine, and 
 Marshall ; all manners of tires for the head, locks, tours, 
 
 m 
 
 wsmwrnm 
 
 iSillilBiJi 
 
 fas 
 
 M- 
 
 Comb of the I'Jth centuiy.J 
 [F.om the Saitvngeot collection at the Louvre). 
 
 frowzes, combs, and so forth ; all manner of washes, 
 almond water, and mercury for the complexion ; the 
 best pomatums of Europe, but a rare one made of lamb's 
 
 1 This specimen forms part of a series of combs, which arc all exquis- 
 itely carved. The words Per roi Servir (pour vous servir) engraved on it, 
 show it to be of foreign workmanship. 
 
 f 
 
 
 tv, 
 
PROM ANCIENT To MODERN TIMES. 
 
 ■.'II 
 
 ' 
 
 : 
 
 caul and May clew. Also all manner of confections of 
 mercury and lw(fs bones to preserve present and to re- 
 st on' lost beauty." 
 
 The last-mentioned preparation would not appear 
 very tempting, were it not coupled with a promise cal- 
 culated to over-rule every objection : at all events, per- 
 fumers of that period must have credit for their candour 
 in mentioning the strange ingredients which they em- Vi^XJ 
 ployed. 
 
 Some historians pretend that Louis XIV., king of 
 France, had a strong dislike for perfumes, which were 
 consequently banished from his court. I at first shared 
 their opinion, until, meeting accidentally with averyin- 
 teresting and erudite hook by M. Edouard Founder, 1 
 I was convinced of my error. It appears, on t lie con- 
 trary, that this king was very fond of scents, and was 
 sdd to be " le plus doux ileurunt," or the "sweetest 
 smelling" monarch that had ever been seen. " Le 
 l'arfumeur Francoys," a curious book published in 
 L680, leaves no doubt on the subject, for it says that 
 "his Majesty was often pleased to see Mr. Martial 2 
 compose in bis closet the odours which he wore on his 
 sacred person." It was not then considered derogatory 
 for great people to superintend the manufacture of their 
 perfumes, for the Prince de Conde had his snuff scented 
 in his presence ; and the celebrated " Poudre a la 
 Mareeliale," which still holds its place in the modern 'A hV/ j.' 
 
 1 Pari* Demi H. par I jl. .11.11 .i Ponrnii r. 
 
 biated perfumer of tliat period mentioned bj 
 d'Emibagnas." 
 
 

 y^ 
 
 THE BOOK OF PEEFUMES. 
 
 IP 
 
 *SS 
 
 perfumer's catalogue, was so named because it was at 
 first composed by Madame la Marechale d'Airmont. 
 
 Italy bad still tbe privilege tben of supplying the rest 
 of Europe with the finest perfumes. When Poussin, 
 the great French painter, went to Rome, he was en- 
 trusted by M. de Chanteloup with the mission of pur- 
 chasing scented gloves, which he procured froni "la 
 Signora Maddelena," who was then in repute as the 
 best Roman perfumer ; and Du Pradel, in his " Livre 
 Commode des adresses," mentions the " Sieur Adam 
 courtier de cabinet,'" who often brought fine essences 
 from Rome, Genoa, and Nice. 
 
 I have in my possession an old English book, called 
 the " Queen's Closet," printed in 1663, which gives a 
 complete insight into the art of perfumery at that 
 period. It contains a number of very curious recipes, 
 among which are those of a perfume invented by 
 Edward VI., another composed by Queen Elizabeth, 
 a wonderful pomatum made from apples mixed with 
 the fat of a young dog, and a highly-praised dentifrice 
 made by Mr. Ferene, of the New Exchange, perfumer 
 to the Queen, who was, I suppose, the first of the 
 generation. This gentleman seems to have shared the 
 Duchess of Newcastle's partiality for bricks, for they 
 form the chief ingredient in his tooth-powder. 
 
 Under the reign of Louis XV., perfumes still in- 
 creased in favour with the French Court, and etiquette 
 prescribed the use of a particular sort every day, which 
 caused Versailles to be named " la eour par/umee." At 
 Choisy, also, where Madame de Pompadour held the 
 

 KKii.M ANCIENT fO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 aia 
 
 y) sceptre of elegance and beauty, perfumes were in great \v 
 favour, and formed no inconsiderable item in that 
 lady's household expenses, which amounted at one time 
 
 to 500,000 livres per annum. 
 
 This taste continued to prevail in France, until the 
 sanguinary days of the Revolution caused a momentary 
 
 Madame de Pompadour at Choisy. 
 
 interruption in the use of articles of luxury, which Bq 
 
 returned with the advent of the imperial court. The 
 
 Empress Josephine entertained the usual passionate 
 fondness of 060168 for scents, ami her consult shared 
 it in no small degn i . r-^l' ) 
 
 In England, under the Georges, perfumery was more 
 

 THE BOOK OF l'KRFl MES. 
 
 or less in favour according to the different notions of 
 the magnates who held by turns the sceptre of fashion. 
 
 At the commencement of the last century, the per- 
 fumer in vogue seems to have been one Charles Lilly, 
 who Lived in the Strand, at the corner of Beaufort 
 Buildings. 1 His name is frequently mentioned in the 
 Tatler, which highly praises his skill in preparing 
 " snuffs and perfumes, which refresh the brain in 
 those that have too much for their quiet, and glad- 
 dens it in those who have too little to know the 
 want of it." 
 
 The next one who seems to have attracted a little 
 notice is a ^Ir. Perry, residing also in the Strand, at 
 the corner of Burleigh Street. He was, however, re- 
 duced to "blow his own trumpet ;" and in a paper called 
 the Wetkty Packet, bearing the date of 28th December, 
 1718, he vaunts, besides his perfumes, an oil drawn from 
 mustard-seed, which, at the moderate price of 67/. per 
 ounce, is warranted to cure all diseases under the sun. 
 
 Some of the French perfumers of that period also 
 combined with their "sweet wares" various sorts of 
 medicines. This was particularly the case with the 
 itinerant vendors or " charlatans," 2 who, arrayed in a 
 gorgeous red coat, with gilt lacings, addressed the gaping 
 crowd from an elegant equipage, and dealt out their per- 
 fumes and quack remedies with musical accompaniment. 
 The illustration forming the frontispiece to this chapter 
 represents one of these " strolling perfumers," who 
 
 1 By a very curious coincidence, I now occupy the same premises. 
 • From the Italian "ciarlare," to chatter. 
 
 955 
 
 ¥ 
 
■>vi 
 
 ► 
 
 FROM INCIKNT TO MODERN T1MK 
 
 usually sold powders, elixirs, pills, opiates, eau-de- 
 Cologne, and Booming drops. EKgW or ten years before 
 the Revolution the Bang's physician had them banished 
 from the kingdom, and from that time perfumery held 
 „ more respectable position in the industrial world. 
 Now, thanks to the progress of science and education, 
 it has shaken off the trammels of quackery, and become 
 an important branch of our commerce. 
 
 I shall conclude this chapter with a few remarks on 
 tin- hair and beard. The Gauls wore their hair long, 
 whence their country derived its appellation of Gallia 
 Comata, or long-haired Caul. Julius Csesw compelled 
 
 them to cut it off when they were subdued, which they 
 considered a great disgrace. The ancient Britons 
 were likewise very proud of the length of their hair, 
 of which they took greal care. They shaved their 
 chins, but preserved a long moustache. The Anglo- 
 Saxons and Danes paid also great attention to their 
 hair. The Danish soldiers who were quartered in 
 England at the time of Edgar and Ethelred were the 
 beaux of the period, and are said to have captivated 
 English ladies with their fine hair, which they combed 
 mid dressed once » day. The clergy, who were obliged 
 
 to shave the crown of their heads ami keep their hair 
 
 short, were constantly preaching againsi long hair, and 
 
 even sometimes carried their precepts into action by 
 cutting off with their own hands the hair of their flock; 
 but their victories were of short duration, and the 
 favourite fashion soon resumed its sway. Men con- 
 tinued to wear their hair long until the time of Francis I., 
 
 ft* >' 
 

 I; 
 
 find it in full vigour during the reign of Henry VIII.. 
 as we may judge by Holbein's pictures, in which the 
 head !-et-nis almost destitute of hair. The above en- 
 graving, representing a German barber in the sixteenth 
 century, from a design by Josf Amman, illustrates 
 -:iion. which certainlv seems to facilitate the 
 
:M 
 
 FROM ANCIENT l<> MODERN TIMES, 
 
 r>l 
 
 
 "shampooing" operatioii ondergone by the customer al 
 the back of the shop. 
 
 Iii Charles the First's time, ringlets were again in 
 fashion for men as well as for women. " I know many 
 young' gentlemen," says Middleton in one of his plays, 
 "wear longer hair than their mistresses." The beard 
 was worn in various ways, the favourite shape being 
 what Beaumont and Fletcher, in their " Queen of 
 Corinth," denominate the T beard, consisting of the 
 moustache and imperial : — 
 
 "His bend, 
 
 Which now he put i' the form of a T, 
 
 Tli.- Soman T ; yoni T beard is (he fashion. 
 
 Ami two-fold doth express the enamoured eourtier." 
 
 The beard was also dyed in sundry colours, as mentioned 
 by Shakspcare in some of his plays. The Puritans bad 
 their hair closely cropped, whence they acquired the 
 cognomen of "Roundheads;" but long hair returned 
 with Charles II. As, however, every one was not 
 naturally gifted with luxuriant locks, periwigs were 
 invented to supply the deficiency. I would rather 
 ascribe it to this cause, for the honour of the gentlemen 
 of the period, than to the reason given by I'epys, who 
 says in his Diary, "At .Mr. Jervas'a, my old barber, I 
 did try two or three borders and periwigs, meaning to 
 wear one, and yet I have no stomach for it, but that 
 the pain of keeping my hair clean is so great. "' Powder 
 and queues came next into fashion, and were patronised 
 during the whole of the last century, until the French 
 
 1 Tcpys' Diary. 9th May, 1663. 
 , t" 
 
 -i ' - 
 
 -C.r- 
 
 $E35 
 
 ^ - 
 
w 
 
 fit) 
 
 * 
 
 218 
 
 THK BUI IK ill- 
 
 Revolution brought ;i complete change in costume and 
 habits, and the hair was cut short, a la Titus, in imita- 
 tion of the antique. 
 
 As regards ladies' head-dresses, the various modes 
 adopted by turns are so numerous that it would rill a 
 whole book to enumerate them all. The hair being the 
 only part of a woman's charms that she can alter at 
 her will, it has naturally been subjected to a constant 
 change of style. In ancient times young ladies, before 
 their marriage, used to wear their hair uncovered and 
 untied, flowing loose over their shoulders ; but when 
 they entered the wedded state they cut it off and as- 
 sumed some sort of head-gear. A little later they made 
 it into long tresses, which sometimes reached their heels. 
 In Richard the Second's time, the hair was worn confined 
 in a golden net or caul — an Eastern custom, probably 
 brought over by the Crusaders. Then came those high 
 conical caps introduced by Isabeau de Baviere, which 
 were made of such extraordinary dimensions that doors 
 had to be altered to admit them. A specimen of these 
 
 may still be seen in 
 
 4 i?^ -— - Ja / "\ ~ <5§^* I ^ e "l\vsdcCaux," 
 IyJ a part of Normandy 
 where they arc worn 
 by rich farmers' 
 wives. During the 
 earlier half of the 
 fifteenth century the 
 and its form and 
 
 horned head-dress was adopted, 
 
 dimensions became the frequent butt of the satirists and 
 
 
 t- 
 
 \ 
 
PBOM AMIKM TO MODERN TIMES. 
 
 219 
 
 
 \t 
 
 caric a t u rist s of the age. The sketch on the preceding 
 page, from the church of Ludlow, in Shropshire, repre- 
 sents an aged dame whose "horns" inspire evident 
 terror to her two companions, who appear to deem 
 them a sign of some relationship to the spirit of evil. 
 In Queen Elizabeth's time, flaxen hair was greatly 
 prized as being the queen's own colour, ami we find it 
 frequently alluded to by poets of the period, 
 '•ll.r bail h aobnni) mine is perfect yellow," 
 
 says Julia, in the "Two Gentlemen of Yerona," and 
 Bassano, in the " Merchant of Venice," exclaims, on 
 seeing Portia's likeness — 
 
 ' " Here in her ha ; rs 
 The painter plays the spider ; and hath woven 
 A golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men, 
 Faster than gnats in cobwebs." 
 
 False hair was also often resorted to at. that time, and 
 appears to have been varied according to the age of the 
 wearer, it' we may judge by the following epigram 
 written by Lord Brooke: — 
 
 "CvaHca, when she was young and sweet, , 
 
 Adorned her hair with golden borrowed hail ; 
 An. I dow in age, when outward thing! decay, 
 
 In spite of age she throws the hair away, 
 
 And now again her own black hair puts on 
 
 To mourn for thoughts by her worth's overthrown." ' 
 
 Under the reign of Charles TL, short curls on the 
 forehead, and ringlets at the sides, came into vogue. 
 This was called the "Sevign£" style, and may 1» - ■ n 
 in Lely's portraits at Hampton Court Palace. In the 
 1 Lord Brooke, p. 202. 
 
 R& 
 
 

 °. 
 
^a^iMl 
 
 ti\ -, /',< 
 
 III F. HOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 possible and impossible ornament. The foregoing illus- 
 trations will convey some idea of these coiffures, the 
 denomination of which is at least as quaint as their 
 appearance, and which inspired the following squib, in 
 the London Magazine for 1777 : — 
 
 "Give Chloe a bushel of horsehair and wool, 
 Of paste and pomatum a pound 
 Ten yards of gay ribbon to deck her sweet skull, 
 And gauze to encompass it round." 
 
 Of the fashions of the present century it would be 
 needless to speak, for they arc still fresh in the memory 
 of my readers ; nor shall I presume to offer an opinion 
 touching their respective merits. Ladies are the best 
 j udges of what sets off their charms ; and, after all, 
 what matters the frame when the picture is pretty ? 
 
 ■v^ 
 
 tf& 
 
^v 
 
 ,>"?, 
 
 224 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 intensity of odour required for a profitable extraction. 
 The south of France furnishes the most abundant supply 
 (if perfumery materials ; there the most odoriferous 
 flowers — such as the rose, jasmine, orange, etc. — are cul- 
 tivated on a large scale, and form the basis of the finest 
 perfumes. Italy produces chiefly essences of bergamot, 
 tj$£) orange, lemon, and others of the citrine family, the 
 consumption of which is very great. To Turkey we 
 are indebted for the far-famed otto of roses, which 
 enters into the composition of many scents. Spain and 
 Algeria have yielded but little hitherto, but will no 
 doubt in after times turn to better account the fragrant 
 treasures with which nature has endowed them. Travel- 
 ling in the plains of Spanish Estramadura, I have passed 
 through miles and miles of land covered with lavender, 
 rosemary, iris, and what they call "rosmariiio" (Lacan- 
 iula stcechas), all growing wild in the greatest luxuriance, 
 and yet they are left to "waste their sweetness on the 
 desert air," for want of proper labour and attention. I 
 also found many aromatic plants in Portugal, and among 
 others one named "alcrim do norte" (Biosma ericoides), 
 which has a delightful fragrance. 
 
 From Eritish India we import cassia, cloves, sandal- 
 wood, patchouly, and several essential oils of the andro- 
 pogon genus ; and the Celestial Empire sends us the 
 much-abused but yet indispensable musk, which, care- 
 fully blended with other perfumes, gives them strength 
 and piquancy without being in any way offensive. 
 
 It bus been proposed to cultivate flowers in England 
 for perfumery purposes, but the climate renders this 
 
 ^S4 
 
THE COMMKIU'lVI. USES OF FLOWERS AND 1'I.AXTS. 225 
 
 scheme totally impracticable. English flowers, however 
 beautiful in form and colour they may be, do not pos- 
 sess the intensity of odour required for extraction, and 
 the greater part of those used in France for perfumery 
 would only grow here in hothouses. The only flower 
 which could be had in abundance would be the rose, 
 but tli - smell of it is very faint compared with that of 
 the Southern rose, and the rose-water made in this 
 country can never equal the French in strength. If 
 we add to this the shortness of the flowering season, 
 and the high price of land and labour, we may arrive 
 at the conclusion that such a speculation would be as 
 bad as that of attempting to make wine from English 
 grapes. As a proof of this, I may mention that I had 
 a specimen submitted to me not long since of a perfumed 
 pomade which a lady had attempted to make on a 
 flower-farm which she had been induced to establish in 
 the north of England, and it was, as I expected, a 
 complete failure. 
 
 The only two perfumery ingredients in which Eng- 
 land really excels are lavender and peppermint, but 
 that is owing to the very cause which would militate 
 against the success of other flowers in this countrv; for 
 our moist and moderate climate gives those two plants 
 the mildness of fragrance for which they arc prized, 
 whilst in France and other warm countries they grow 
 strong and rank. 
 
 There are four processes in use for extracting the 
 aroma from fragrant substances — distillation, expres- 
 sion, maceration, and abs orpti on. 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
 k m 
 
V 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 Distillation is employed for plants, barks, woods, and 
 a few flowers. These are placed in a still containing 
 water, which evaporates by means of heat, condenses in 
 the worm, and issues from the tap strongly impregnated 
 with the aroma, the more concentrated part of which 
 collects either on the surface or at the bottom of the 
 distillate, according to its specific gravity, and forms 
 the essential oil. The same water is generally distilled 
 
 several times over with fresh materials, and is sometimes 
 of sufficient value to be kept, as is the case with rose and 
 orange-flower water. A great improvement has been 
 lately introduced in the mode of distillation : it consists 
 in suspending the flowers or plants in the still on a sort 
 of sii \ c and allowing a jet of steam to pass through and 
 carry off the fragrant molecules. This produces a finer 
 essential oil than allowing these substances to be steeped 
 in water at the bottom of the still. 
 
OMMBRCIAL D8ES OT FLOWEB8 AM) hams. 227 
 
 Expression is (unfilled to the essences obtained ftom 
 the rinds of the fruits of the citrine series, comprising 
 lemon, orange, bigarrade, bergamot, oedrat, and limette. 
 It is performed in various ways : on the coast of Genoa 
 they rub the fruit against a grated funnel; in Sicily 
 they press the rind in cloth bags ; and in Calabria, 
 where the largest quantity is manufactured, they roll 
 the fruit between two bowls, one placed inside the 
 other, the concave part of the lower and the convex 
 pari of tin- upper being armed with sharp spikes. 
 nieae bowls revolve in a contrary direction, causing 
 
 the small vesicles on the surface of the fruit to burst 
 and give up the essence contained in them, which is 
 afterwards collected with a sponge. These rinds are 
 also sometimes distilled ; but the former process, which 
 is called in French an zest, gives a much purer essence. 
 Maceration and absorption are both founded on the 
 affinity which fragrant molecules have for fatty bodies, ' 
 becoming more readily fixed into them than into any 
 Others. Tims the aroma of flowers is first transferred 
 to greases (called pomades), and oils, which are made 
 afterwards to yield it to alcohol, whilst the latter, if 
 placed in direct contact with the flowers, would not 
 extract it from them. The first attempt that was made 
 in this way, some two hundred years ago, was to place 
 some almonds in alternate beds with fresh-gathered 
 flowers, renewing the latter several days, and after- 
 wards ponnding the almonds in a mortar, and pressing 
 the oil which had absorbed the aroma. Tin's is the 
 same process now used in India by the natives for ob- 
 
 * 
 
 *rw 
 
J/l fi 
 
 fanning perfumed oils, substituting gingelly or sesamum 
 seeds for almonds. The next improvement was to use 
 a plain earthen pan, coated inside with a thin layer of 
 grease, strewing the flowers on the grease, and covering 
 it over with another jar similarly prepared. After re- 
 newing the flowers for a few days, the grease was found 
 to have borrowed their scent. This process was aban- 
 doned in France some fifty years ago, but is still 
 resorted to by the Arabs (who were probably the 
 inventors of it), the only difference being that they 
 use white wax mixed with grease, on account of the 
 heat of the climate. 
 
 The two modes now adopted to make these scented 
 oils and pomades are, as I said before, maceration and 
 absorption. The former is used for the less delicate 
 flowers, such as the rose, orange, jonquil, violet, and 
 cassie (Acacia farnesiana). A certain quantity of grease 
 is placed in a pan fitted with a water bath, and is 
 brought to an oily consistency. Flowers are then 
 thrown in, and left to digest for some hours, being 
 stirred frequently ; after which, the grease is taken out 
 and pressed in horsehair bags. This operation is re- 
 peated, until the fatty body is sufficiently impregnated 
 with the fragrance of the flowers. Oil is treated in the 
 same way, but requires less heat. 
 
 The process of absorption, called by the French cn- 
 fleurage, is chiefly confined to the jasmine and tuberose, 
 the delicate aroma of which would be injured by 
 heat. A series of square glass frames are covered 
 with a thin layer of purified grease, in which ridges 
 
 *3afl 
 
 ^ 
 
 jV 
 
I in OOMMEM l Al. I SES OF 1 I <>\\ BBS AM) PLANTS. 229 
 
 arc made to facilitate absorption. Fresh-gathered 
 flowers are strewed on these, and renewed every morn- 
 ing as long as the flower is in bloom, and by that time 
 the grease has acquired a very strong flavour. The 
 same process is used for oil, but the frames, instead of 
 being mounted with glass, have a wire bottom, over 
 which is spread a thick cotton cloth soaked in olive oil. 
 Flowers are laid on in the same way, and the cloths 
 submitted to high pressure to extract the oil when sat- 
 
 : 
 
 i « \»t 6 L-JVf? M 
 
 
 
 ticiently impregnated These frames are piled on each 
 other to keep them sir-tight. 
 
 A new mode of enfleurage has been lately devised by- 
 Mr. D. Semeria, of Nice, and found to offer advantages 
 over that just described. Instead of laying the flowers 
 on the grease, he spreads them on a fine net mounted on 
 a separate frame. This net is introduced between two 
 glass frames covered on both .sides with grease. The 
 whole Belies of frames is inclosed in an air-tight re© BS, 
 
 m 
 
 \ ; 
 
 JN ' 
 
-£Srb 
 
 230 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 and all that is required is to draw out the nets every 
 morning and fill them with fresh flowers, which give 
 their aroma to the two surfaces with which thcv are in 
 contact. This system saves the waste and labour re- 
 sulting from having to pick the old flowers from the 
 surface of the grease, and produces also a finer fragrance. 
 A very curious pneumatic apparatus for the same 
 purpose has been invented by Mr. Piver, the eminent 
 
 m 
 
 ?:: 
 
 
 U$> 
 
 M 
 
 ■J* 
 
 
 -Vl 
 
 Parisian perfumer, who submitted a plan of it to the 
 jury at the last Exhibition. It consists in a series of 
 perforated plates, supporting flowers placed alternately 
 with sheets of glass overlaid with grease, in a chamber 
 through which a current of air is made to pass several 
 
 

 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF FLOWERS \M> PLANTS. 
 
 231 
 
 ,-■/ times, until all the scent of tlie (lowers becomes fixed 
 into the grease. 
 
 Ano less remarkable invention is that of Mr. Millon, 
 a French chemist, who found means to extract the aroma 
 of flowers by placing them in a percolating apparatus 
 and pouring over them some ether, or sulphuivt of car- 
 bon, which is drawn off a few minutes after, and carries 
 with it all the fragrant molecules. It is afterwards dis- 
 
 JS 
 
 >'■! 
 
 View of N ice. 
 
 tilled to dryness, and the result obtained is a solid waxy 
 \. mass possessing the scent of the flower in its purest and 
 f most concentrated form. This process, although very 
 
 ingenious, has not received any practical application as 
 vet. owing to tin- expense attending i'. some of these 
 
 - 
 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 vns 
 
 concrete essences costing as much as £50 an ounce. It 
 has, however, served to prove the total imponderability 
 of fragrant molecules ; for although this substance, from 
 its high state of concentration, apjiears at first sight to 
 be the solidified principle of scent, if it be treated several 
 times with alcohol it gradually loses all its perfume, and 
 yet the residue is not found to have lost one atom of its 
 weight. 
 
 Grasse, Cannes, and Nice, all in the south of France, 
 and close to each other, are the principal towns where 
 the maceration and absorption processes are carried on. 
 There are above one hundred houses engaged in these 
 operations, and in the distillation of essential oils, giving 
 employment during the flower season to at least ten 
 thousand people. Nice is, perhaps, the most admirably 
 situated of the three for producing all flowers for 
 perfumery purposes, and its violets in particular are 
 superior to any other. Since that town has become 
 French a great impulse has been given to its manufac- 
 ture of perfumery materials, which had formerly to 
 pay customs duties on entering into France. 
 
 The following are approximate quantities and values 
 of the flowers consumed in that locality for preparing 
 perfumery materials : — 
 
 Orange-flowers 2,000,000 lbs., worth about £40,000 
 
 Roses 600,000,, „ 12,000 
 
 Jasmine 1.50,000 ,, „ 8,000 
 
 Violets 00,000 „ „ 4,000 
 
 Cassia so. 000 „ ,. 6,000 
 
 Tuberose 40,000 „ „ 3,000 
 
 These flowers are procured from growers by private 
 contract or sold in the market. The average quantities 
 
 * 
 

 ! 
 
 THK (OMMKIiilM. 1 si.s OP FLOWERS UfD PLANTS. 238 
 
 of the following articles are manufactured with them 
 
 yearly; — 700,000 lbs. of scented oils and i iiidcs, 
 
 200,000 lbs. of rose-water, l,200,0001bs. of orange-flower 
 
 water, first quality, 1 2,400,000 lbs. of orange-flower 
 water, second quality ; 1,000 lbs. of neroly, an essential 
 oil obtained from orange-flowers. The other flowers do 
 not yield essential oils, but the latter are extensively 
 distilled in the same places from aromatic plants, such 
 as lavender, rosemary, thyme, geranium, etc. Many of 
 inv fair readers have considered flowers hitherto as 
 simply ornamental : the above figures will give them 
 an idea of their importance as an article of commerce. 
 
 Another branch of the art of perfumery is the manu- 
 facture of scents, cosmetics, soaps, and other toilet 
 requisites. It is carried on in the principal cities of 
 Europe, and especially in London and Paris, which 
 may be called the head-quarters of perfumery, and 
 whence these products are exported to all parts of the 
 world. There are, it is true, other manufactories in 
 Germany, Russia, Spain, and the United States, but 
 their chief trade consists in counterfeiting the articles 
 of the London and Paris manufacturers, and this can- 
 not be considered a legitimate business. 
 
 The principal English manufacturers of perfumery 
 
 and toilet 6oaps reside in London, where they number 
 
 about sixty, employing a large number of men and 
 
 women ; for female labour has been introduced for nearly 
 
 twenty years in all the London manufactories,'- and 
 
 1 That is, distilled twin ot« the Bowers. 
 
 » I beliere I wu the Bid t" emptor female labour in England, and 1 am 
 
 happy to say my example was soon followed by my ton/rim. 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
fif^" 
 
 has been found to answer very well for all kinds of 
 work requiring more dexterity than strength. 
 
 According to the official returns published, the ex- 
 ports of perfumery from the United Kingdom for the 
 year 1863, amounted to £106,989, sub-divided as will 
 be seen in the following table ; wo must, however, say 
 that very little reliance is to be placed on these figures, 
 which do not represent perhaps one-fourth of the actual 
 amount exported. Taking, for instance, the sum given 
 for Australia at £18,921, it appears ridiculously small ; 
 there are undoubtedly several manufacturers in London 
 who each and individually ship perfumery to nearly 
 that amount every year, to our Australian colonies. 
 
 Exports of Perfumery from the United Kingdom in 1863. 
 
 Countries to which Exported. 
 
 Amounts declared. 
 
 
 £2732 
 3118 
 1980 
 2568 
 2250 
 1968 
 5749 
 4477 
 2149 
 1818 
 2141 
 
 21914 
 
 18921 
 3115 
 6004 
 
 101S9 
 1003 
 1172 
 2021 
 1717 
 9683 
 
 
 Holland 
 
 
 
 Egypt 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 liritish West Indies 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 £ 106,989 
 
 
THE < HMMK1UIAI. I BBS OP FLOWBBS AND PLANTS. 285 
 
 This table does not inclade soap; bvA as peri'umed 
 soaps arc n<>t particularized, and are confounded with 
 
 common ones, it is impossible to obtain any correct in- 
 formation respecting the amount or quantity exported. 
 
 Paris is the great centre of the manufacture of per- 
 fumery, which forms an important item of what are 
 
 called " articles de Paris." There arc in that capital 
 one hundred and twenty working perfumers, employing 
 about three thousand men and women, and their united 
 returns may be estimated at not less than forty millions 
 of francs yearly. The amount of perfumery exported 
 from France alone reaches annually upwards of tliirtv 
 millions of francs, its principal consumers being Furope 
 and North and South America ; whilst British per- 
 Vumery is more frequently shipped to India, China, and 
 Australia. 
 
 Next to Hungary-water, the most ancient perfume 
 now in use is eau-de-Cologne, or Cologne-water, which 
 was invented in the last century by an apothecary re- 
 siding in that city. It can, however, be made just as 
 well anywhere else, as all the ingredients entering into 
 its composition come from the South of France and 
 Italy. Its perfume is extracted principally from the 
 flowers, leaves, and rind of the fruit of the bitter 
 orange, and other trees of the Citrus species, which 
 blend well together, and form an harmonious com- 
 pound. 
 
 Toilet vinegar is a sort of improvement on eau-de- 
 Cologne, containing balsams and vinegar in addition. 
 Lavender-water was formerly distilled with alcohol from 
 
 =& 
 
>/f 
 
 THE HOOK Of PERFUMES. 
 
 fresh flowers, but is now prepared by simply digesting 
 the essential oil in spirits, which produces the same 
 result at a much less cost. The finest is made with 
 English oil, and the common with French, which is 
 considerably cheaper, but is easily distinguished by its 
 coarse flavour. 
 
 Perfumes for the handkerchief are composed in va- 
 rious ways : the best are made by infusing in alcohol 
 the pomades or oils obtained by the processes I have 
 just described. This alcoholate possesses the true scent 
 of the flowers entirely free from the empyreumatic smell 
 inherent in all essential oils ; as, however, there are but 
 six or seven flowers which yield pomades and oils, the 
 perfumer has to combine these together to imitate all 
 other flowers. This may be called the truly artistic 
 part of perfumer}', for it is done by studying resem- 
 blances and affinities, and blending the shades of scent 
 as a painter does the colours on his palette. Thus, for 
 instance, no perfume is extracted from the heliotrope ; 
 but as it has a strong vanilla flavour, by using the latter 
 as a basis, with other ingredients to give it freshness, a 
 perfect imitation is produced ; and so on with many 
 others. 
 
 The most important branch of the perfumer's art is 
 the manufacture of toilet soaps. They are generally 
 prepared from the best tallow soaps, which are remelted, 
 purified, and scented. They can also be made by what 
 is called the cold process, which consists in combining 
 grease with a fixed dose of lees. It offers a certain 
 advantage to perfumers for producing a delicately- 
 
 <tft 
 
scented soap, by enabling them to use as a basis a po- 
 made instead of tat, which could not be done with the 
 Other process, as the heal would destroy the fragrance. 
 This soap, however, requires being kept for some time 
 before it is used, in order that the saponification may 
 become complete. Soft soap, known as shaving cream, 
 is obtained by substituting potash for soda lees, and 
 transparent soap Ivy combining soda soap with alcohol. 
 Another sort of transparent soap has been produced 
 lately by incorporating glycerine into it, in the propor- 
 tion of about one-third to two-thirds of soap. 
 
 The English toilet soaps are the very best that are 
 made: the French come next, but, as tiny are not re- 
 melted, they never acquire the softness of ours. The 
 German soaps are the very worst that are manufactured : 
 tlie cocoa-nut oil, which invariably forms their basis, 
 leaves a strong foetid smell on the hands, and their very 
 cheapness is a deception ; for as cocoa-nut oil takes up 
 twice as much alkali as any other fatty substance, the 
 soap produced with it wastes away in a very short time. 
 
 Cosmetics, pomatums, washes, dentifrices, and othoi 
 toilet requisites, are also largely manufactured, but they 
 are too numerous to be described here at full length; 
 nor shall T attempt to descant on their respective 
 merits, which depend, in a great measure, upon the 
 skill of the operator, and the fitness and purity of the 
 materials used. The greatest improvement effected 
 in these preparations lately has been the introduction 
 of glycerine. Although this Bubstance was discovered 
 
 in the last century, it is only a few years since medica 
 
 X 
 
%v?.. 
 
 
 & 
 
 238 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 men fully recognised and appreciated its merits, and 
 applied it to the cure of skin diseases, for which it 
 answers admirably. Perfumers are now beginning to 
 avail themselves of its wonderful properties, and to 
 combine it with their soaps and cosmetics. 
 
 The volatilisation of perfumes by means of steam is 
 also a modern improvement. A current of steam is 
 made to pass through a concentrated essence, from 
 which it disengages the fragrant molecules, and spreads 
 them through the atmosphere with extraordinary ra- 
 pidity and force. A whole theatre may be perfumed 
 by this means in ten minutes, and a drawing-room 
 consequently in much less time. This system has the 
 advantage of purifying the air, and has been adopted 
 on that account by some of the hospitals and other 
 public institutions. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter I shall venture to 
 offer to ladies a few words of advice on the choice of 
 their perfumes and cosmetics. I feel that this is deli- 
 cate grouni, but I shall endeavour to let my remarks 
 be of a purely general character. 
 
 The selection of a perfume is entirely a matter of 
 taste, and I should no more presume to dictate to a lady 
 which scent she should choose, than I would to an epicure 
 what wine he is to drink ; yet I may say to the ner- 
 vous : use simple extracts of flowers which can never 
 hurt you, in preference to compounds, which generally 
 contain musk and other ingredients likely to affect the 
 head. Above all, avoid strong, coarse perfumes ; and 
 remember, that if a woman's temper may be told from 
 
 r 
 
Till'. COMMERCIAL 
 
 KS AND PI.lA.NTS. 
 
 her handwriting, her good lastc and good breeding 
 may as easily be ascertained by the perfume she uses. 
 
 Whilst a IdiJij charms us with the delicate ethereal 
 fragrance she sheds around her, aspiring vulgarity will 
 as suiily betray itself by a mouchoir redolent of common 
 perfumes. 
 
 Hair preparations are like m e di c ines, and must be 
 varied according to the consumer. For some pomatum 
 is preferable, for others oil, whilst some, again, re- 
 quire neither, and should use hair-washes or lotions. 
 A mixture of lime-juice and glycerine has lately been 
 introduced, and has met with great success, for it clears 
 the hair from pellicles, the usual cause of premature 
 baldness. For all these things, however, personal ex- 
 perience is the best guide. 
 
 Soap is an article of large consumption, and some 
 people cannot afford to pay much for it ; yet I would 
 say, avoid tery cheap soaps, which irritate the skin owing 
 in tin- excess of alkali which they contain. Good soaps 
 are now manufactured at a very moderate price by the 
 principal London perfumers, and ought to satisfy the 
 most economical. White, yellow, and brown are the 
 best colours to select. 
 
 Tooth-powders axe preferable to tooth-pastes. The 
 latter may be pl< asanter to use, but the former are cer- 
 tainly more beneficial. 
 
 Lot ions tor the complexion require of all other cosmetics 
 to be car. full] prepared. Some are composed with mineral 
 poisons, which render them dangerous to use. although 
 they may be effectual in coring certain skin diseases. 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 wx 
 
 

 240 
 
 THE BOOK OF TERKTMES. 
 
 There ought to be always a distinction made between 
 those that are intended for healthy skins, and those 
 that are to be used for cutaneous imperfections ; be- 
 sides, the latter may be easily removed without having 
 recourse to any violent remedies. 
 
 Paints for the face I cannot conscientiously recom- 
 mend. Eouge is innocuous in itself, being made of 
 cochineal and safflower ; but whites are often made of 
 deadly poisons, such as cost poor Zelger his life a few 
 •j^~, months since. 1 The best white ought to be made of 
 mother-of-pearl, but it is not often so prepared. To 
 professional people, who cannot dispense with these, I 
 must only recommend great care in their selection ; but 
 to others I would say, cold water, fresh air, and exercise. 
 are the best recipes for health and beauty ; for no bor- 
 rowed charms can equal those of 
 
 ■• A woman's face, with Xature's own hand painted." 
 
 1 If. Zelger was a Belgian singer at the Royal Italian Opera. During 
 ^ -j. the performance of " Guillaume Tell." some of the paint which he had on 
 Si r his hoe accidentally entered his mouth, and he died in consequence, after 
 
 a very paiuful and lingering illness. 
 
 % 
 
gon, citrine, spicy, ligneous, radical, seminal, balrnv or 
 resinous, fruity and artificial. 
 
 The animal series comprises only three substances — 
 musk, civet, and ambergris. It is very useful in per- 
 fumery, on account of its powerful and durable aroma, 
 which resists evaporation longer than any other. 
 
 Musk is a secretion found in a pocket, or pod, under 
 the belly of the musk-deer (ifosc/nts mosc/iatus or nios- 
 chiferus), a ruminant which inhabits the higher moun- 
 
 . .-iDeeT (Moschus moschiferut.) 
 
 tain ranges of China, Thibet, and Tonquin. " It is a 
 pretty grey animal," says Dr. Hooker, "the size of a 
 roebuck, and somewhat resembling it, with coarse fur, 
 short horns, and two projecting teeth from the upper 
 jaw, said to be used in rooting up the aromatic herbs 
 from which the Bhoteas believe that it derives its 
 odour." 1 The male alone yields the celebrated per- 
 fume, the best being that which comes from Tonquin. 
 The next in quality is collected in Assam; whilst the 
 Kaberdeen musk, obtained from a variety of the species 
 
 1 Himalayan Journal, by Dr. Hooker, vol. i., p. 256. 
 
 « 
 

 MATERIALS ISEI) IN PERFUMERY. 
 
 24.'i 
 
 called Kubava (Moschus Sibiricits), which inhabits the 
 
 Siberian sido of tbose mountains, is the most inferior 
 of a!!. 
 
 The Chinese have known musk for many apes : they 
 rail it shay hemp, — shay being the name of the animal, 
 and heang meaning perfume. Tavernier is the first 
 European traveller who mentions the precious drug, 
 and he says he bought 7673 pods in one of his journey?, 
 which shows how plentiful it must have been even at 
 thai early period. He gives the following description 
 of musk-deer hunting, which takes place in February 
 and March, when hunger drives these animals from 
 
 h. 
 
^^fcp 
 
 THE 1SOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 snares, and kill them with arrows and sticks. Thev 
 are so lean and exhausted through the hunger they 
 have endured, that they are easily pursued and over- 
 taken." 1 The foregoing illustration, faithfully copied 
 from a Chinese drawing, in which were wrapped up 
 some musk-pods I purchased lately, would tend to 
 prove that the musk-deer chase is still carried on in 
 the same manner. 
 
 Musk is an unctuous substance of a reddish-brown 
 colour, which soon becomes black by exposure to the air. 
 
 M, 
 § 
 
 283 
 
 It is so powerful that, according to Chardin's authority, 
 the hunter is obliged to have his mouth and nose 
 stopped with folds of linen when he cuts off the bag 
 from the animal, as otherwise the pungent smell would 
 cause haemorrhage, sometimes ending in death. As, 
 however, the natives take good care to adulterate the 
 musk before they send it to Europe, we are not exposed 
 to such accidents. The substances used for this adul- 
 
 1 Voyage de Juan Buptiste Tavernicr, vol. iv.. 
 
 'h^ 
 
 W^ ^ 
 

 MATERIALS rsi;n IX PEBFUMEBY. 
 
 245 
 
 taration an generally the blood or chopped liver of the 
 
 animal, which they cleverly insert into the pod, and 
 sometimes pieces of lead are introduced to increase the 
 weight Some even manufacture artificial pods from 
 the belly skin, and till them with a mixture of musk 
 and other materials. Musk, in pods, is generally im- 
 ported in caddies of twenty ounces in weight and the 
 price of it varies from 25a. to 50s. per ounce, accord- 
 ing to quality. Grain musk, which is the musk ex- 
 tracted from the pods, is much dearer. -Musk is, with- 
 out any exception, the strongest and most durable of all 
 known' perfumes, and it is, in consequence, largely used 
 in compounds, its presence, when not too perceptible, 
 producing a very agreeable effect. 
 
 The odour of musk is not confined to this species of 
 animals : it is also to be found, though in a less degree, 
 in others, such as the musk-ox, the musk-rat, the musk- 
 duck, etc. Chief Justice Temple, of British Hon- 
 duras, who presided at the Society of Arts when I read 
 my paper on perfumery, assured the meeting that the 
 glands of alligators had a strong musky odour; and, 
 wishing to ascertain the fact, T procured, through the 
 kindness of my friend, Mr. Edward Greey, of the 
 Royal West India Mail Company, the head of one of 
 these monsters: but I must say that, when the case 
 was opened, the stench diffused was so great that 
 it required some little amount of courage to extract 
 the glands, and the perfume they Beamed to possess 
 was strongly suggestive of Billingsgate market on a 
 
 hot day. Some polypi, and, among others, the Tipula 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 ■■- 
 
 
246 
 
 THE BOOK OF PEEFUMES. 
 
 moschifera, which is found in the Mediterranean, and 
 principally at Nice, give out a musky smell, but of a 
 very evanescent nature. 
 
 The musky fragrance likewise occurs in some vege- 
 tables, such as the well-known yellow-flowered musk- 
 plant, but its intensity is not sufficient for extraction. 
 The definition moschatus (musky), is often applied to 
 plants and flowers ; but it must not always be taken in 
 its literal sense, for botanists are apt to distinguish by 
 this name strong scents, such as the nutmeg, which is 
 termed Mi/risfica moschata, although it bears no resem- 
 blance to musk. The so-called musk-seed, itself (Hibiscus 
 (tbelmoschu-s) is much more like civet than musk. Dr. 
 Cloquet pretends that some preparations of gold and 
 other mineral substances have also a musky fragrance, 1 
 but I have never met with any which bore out this 
 assertion. 
 
 Civet is the glandular secretion of the Viicrra chetta, 
 
 m 
 

 .'17 
 
 * 
 
 
 India. It is now chiefly imported from the Indian 
 Archipelago; but, formerly, Dutch m erchante kept some 
 of these cats at Amsterdam in long wooden cages, and 
 had the perfume scraped from them two or three times 
 a week with a wooden spatula. Civet, in the natural 
 state, lias a most disgusting appearance, and its .smell 
 is equally repulsive to the uninitiated, who would be 
 tempted to cry out with < Wper— 
 
 '• I cannot tulk with civet in the room, 
 A fine puss gentleman that's all perfume; 
 The sight's enough, no need to smell a beau 
 Who thrusts bis nose into a taree show." 
 
 Yet. when properly diluted and combined with other 
 scents, it produces a very pleasing affect, and possesses 
 a much more floral fragrance than musk ; indeed, it 
 would be impossible to imitate some flowers without 
 it. Its price varies from 20a. to 30s. per ounce, ac- 
 cording to quality. 
 
 Ambergris for a long time puzzled the Havana, whs 
 were at a loss to account for its origin, and thought it 
 at first to be of the same nature as yellow amber, whence 
 it derived its name of grey amber {ombre grit). It is 
 now ascertained beyond a doubt to bo generated by 
 the large-headed spermaceti whale (Phjfteter macroce- 
 phalus), and is the result of a diseased state of the 
 animal, which either throws up the morbific substance. 
 or dies of the malady, and is eaten up by other fish) s. 
 In either case, the ambergris becomes loose, and is picked 
 up floating on the sea. or is washed ashoxe. It is found 
 principally on the coasts of Greenland, I'.ra/.il, India, 
 
 china, Japan, etc., and Bometimes on the vesi cast ••? 
 
 ^^rr^ 
 
 
 IE 
 
 * ' 
 
*& 
 
 Ireland. The largest piece on record was one weighing 
 182 lbs., which the Dutch East India Company bought 
 from the King of Tydore. I have in my possession a 
 very curious specimen extracted by a North American 
 whaler from a fish which he killed. Part of it is quite 
 grey, and the remainder still black, which shows that 
 the disease had not yet attained its maturity. 
 
 Ambergris is not agreeable by itself, having a some- 
 what earthy or mouldy flavour, but blended with other 
 perfumes it imparts to them an ethereal fragrance un- 
 attainable by any other means. Its price varies very 
 much, according to the quantity to be found in the 
 market. I have known it as low as 10s. and as high as 
 50s. per ounce. 
 
 The floral series includes all flowers available for 
 perfumery purposes, which hitherto have been limited 
 to eight — viz., jasmine, rose, orange, tuberose, cassie, 
 violet, jonquil, and narcissus. 
 
 Jasmine is one of the most agreeable and useful 
 
 odours employed by perfumers, and highly valuable are 
 
 the fragrant treasures which they obtain 
 
 " From timid jasmine buds, that keep 
 Their odours to themselves all day, 
 But, when the sunlight dies away, 
 Let their delicious secret out." ' 
 
 It was introduced by the Arabs, who called it Yasmvn, 
 hence its present name. The most fragrant sort is the 
 Jasminum odoratkunuun, which is largely cultivated 
 in the south of France. It is obtained by grafting on 
 wild jasmine, and begins to bear flowers the second 
 
 1 Light of the Harem. 
 
 Jr 
 

 
 MATERIALS DSED IN PERFUMERY. 
 
 240 
 
 year. It grows in the shape of a bush from three 
 to four feet high, and requires to be in a fresh open 
 soil, well sheltered from north winds. The flowering 
 season is from July to October. The flowers open 
 every morning at six o'clock with great regularity, and 
 arc culled after sunrise, as the morning dew would 
 injure their flavour. Each tree yields about twenty- 
 four ounces of flowers. 
 
 We next come to the queen of flowers, the rose — 
 the eternal theme of poets of all ages and of all nations, 
 but which for the prosaical perfumer derives its prin- 
 cipal charms from the delicious fragrance with which 
 Nature has endowed it. 
 
 " The rose looks fair, lmt fairer we it deem 
 For that sweet odoni which doth in it live." ' 
 
 And well docs the perfumer turn that sweetness to 
 account ; for he compels the lovely flower to yield 
 its aroma to him in every shape, and he obtains from 
 it an essential oil, a distilled water, a perfumed oil, 
 and a pomade. Even its withered leaves are rendered 
 available to form the ground of sachet-powder, for they 
 retain their scent for a considerable time. 
 
 The species used for perfumery is the hundred-leaved 
 rose (Rosa centijolia). It is extensively cultivated in 
 Turkey, near Adrianople, whence comes the far-famed 
 otto of roses; and in the south of France, where 
 pomades and oils are made. 
 
 Rose trees are planted in a cool ground, and may bo 
 exposed to the north wind without any injury. They 
 
 1 Shakspcare's Sonnets, hv. 
 
 &5 
 
 r 
 

 9* 
 
 
 ~; '•- 
 
 m 
 
 bear about eight ounces of flowers ill the second year, 
 and twelve ounces in the following ones. The flowering 
 season is in May, and the flowers, which generally open 
 during the night, must be gathered before sunrise, as 
 after that time they lose half their fragrance. 
 
 The orange-blossoms used for perfumery are those of 
 the bigarrade or bitter orange-tree (Citrus bigarradia). 
 They yield by distillation an essential oil known under 
 the name of ncrohj, which forms one of the chief ingre- 
 dients in eau-de-Cologne : a pomade and an oil are also 
 obtained from them by maceration. From the leaves 
 of the tree an essential oil called petit-grain is produced, 
 and from the rind of the fruit another essence is ex- 
 pressed, which is styled oil of bigarrade. The edible 
 orange-tree (Citrus aurantium) also produces essences, 
 but they are of a very inferior quality, with the excep- 
 tion of that obtained from the rind, which is called oil, 
 of Portugal. These two trees bear a great resemblance 
 to each other, but the petiole of their leaves 
 are slightly different ; that of the bigarrade 
 being in the shape of a heart. 
 
 The largest bigarrade-tree plantations are 
 to be found in the south of France, in Calabria, 
 - and in Sicily. This tree requires a dry soil, 
 with a southern aspect. It bears flowers 
 three years after grafting, increasing every 
 year until it reaches its maximum, when it is 
 about twenty years old. The quantity de- 
 pends on the age and situation, a full-grown tree yielding 
 on an average from 50 lbs. to 60 lbs. of blossoms. The 
 
 if 
 

 *a 
 
 
 M \n-;i:i \l.s i SED IX PEKFt Ml K\ . 
 
 251 
 
 flowering season is ill May, and the flowers are gathered 
 two or three times a week, after sunrise. 
 
 The tuberose (Po/i/cinf/ics tuberosa) is a native of the 
 East Indies, where it grows wild, in Java and Ceylon : 
 it was first brought to Europe by Simon de Tovar, 
 a Spanish physician, in 1094. The Dutch monopolised 
 this flower for some time, cultivating it in hothouses, 
 but it has now found its way to France, Italy, and 
 Spain, and thrives well in those climates. 
 
 " Eternal spring, with smiling verdure here 
 Warms the mild air, and crowns the youthful year. 
 The tuherose ever breathes, and violets blow." 
 
 It springs from a bidb which is 
 planted in the autumn and bears 
 flowers the following year. The 
 stalk rises about three feet, and 
 produces every day two full- 
 blown flowers, which open from 
 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to 
 localities, but always with the 
 
 most precise regularity: they r lbercs ' Pu/ J' n ""'"'" 4 "' M '" 
 must be gathered immediately, as their fragrance does 
 not last long. 
 
 Casaie (Acacia farncaiana) is a shrub of the acacia 
 tribe, which only grows in southern latitudes. Its 
 height ranges from five to six feet, and it becomes 
 covered in the months of October and November with 
 globular flowers of a bright golden hue, which, peering 
 through its delicate emerald foliage, have the prettiest 
 effect. All those who have travelled in that season on 
 
630* 
 
 252 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 the coast of Genoa will no doubt remember what 
 charming bouquets and garlands are made of the cassie 
 intermixed with other flowers. To perfumers it is a 
 most valuable assistant, possessing in the highest degree 
 a fresh floral fragrance, which 
 renders it highly useful in 
 compounds. It bears some 
 resemblance to the violet, and, 
 being much stronger, is oftf n 
 used to fortify that scent, 
 which is naturally weak. 
 
 The cassie requires a very 
 dry soil, well exposed to the 
 sun's rays. The tree does 
 not bear flowers until it is five or six years old. The 
 yield varies from 1 lb. to 20 lbs. for every tree, ac- 
 cording to age and position. The blossoms are gathered 
 three times a week after sunrise : a very strong oil 
 and pomade is obtained from them by maceration. In 
 Africa, and principally in Tunis, an essential oil of 
 cassie is made, which is sold at about £4 per ounce ; but 
 French and Italian flowers are not sufficiently powerful 
 to yield an essence. 
 
 The violet is one of the most charming odours in 
 nature, and well might Shakspeare exclaim — 
 
 " Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells, 
 It' not from my love's breath?" 
 
 It is a scent which pleases all, even the most delicate 
 and nervous, and it is no wonder that it shoidd be in 
 such universal request. The largest and almost only 
 
> 
 
 violet plantations have hitherto been at Nice, its excep- 
 tional position rendering it the most available spot for 
 them. The species used is the double Parma violet 
 (Viola odorata). It requires a very cool and shady 
 ground, and is generally placed in the orange and 
 citron groves, at the foot of the trees, which screen it 
 with their thick foliage from the heat of the sun. It 
 flowers from the beginning of February to the middle 
 of April, and each plant yields but a few ounces of 
 blossoms, which are culled twice a week after sunrise. 
 
 Jonquil (Narcissus j'onquiia), and narcissus (Narcissus 
 odorata), are two bulbous plants which are also culti- 
 vated for perfumery purrjoses, but in much smaller 
 quantities than any of those already mentioned, their 
 peculiar aroma rendering their use limited. The former 
 is to be found chiefly in the south of France, and the 
 latter in Algeria. Mignonnette, lilac, and hawthorn 
 are also sometimes worked into pomades, but on such 
 a small scale that they are not worth mentioning. The 
 extracts named after those ilowers are generally pro- 
 duced by combination. 
 
 The herbal series comprises all aromatic plants, such 
 as lavender, spike, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, mar- 
 joram, geranium, patchouly, and wintergreen, which 
 yield essential oils by distillation. 
 
 Lavender was extensively used by the Romans in 
 
 their baths, whence it derived its name. l It is a nice, 
 
 clean scent, and an old and deserving favourite. The 
 
 best lavender (Laraiuliila vera) is grown at Mitcham, 
 
 1 From tin' Latin favor*, "to wash." 
 
 -' ' , 
 
 s& 
 
 - . - 
 
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 in Surrey, and at Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. It is pro- 
 duced by slips, which are planted in the autumn, and 
 yield flowers the next year and the two following ones, 
 when they are renewed. Mr. James Bridges, the largest 
 English distiller of lavender and peppermint, cultivates 
 these two plants on an extensive scale near Mitcham. 
 During the flower season he has three gigantic stills in 
 operation, each able to contain about one thousand gallons. 
 
 A great deal of essence of lavender is also manufac- 
 tured in France; but, as I said before, it is very inferior 
 to that made in England. It is obtained from the 
 same plant, which grows wild in great abundance in 
 most Alpine districts. Portable stills are carried into 
 the mountains, and the herb distilled on the spot. 
 The same process is used for rosemary and thyme. 
 
 Spike (Lavandula spica) is a coarser species of laven- 
 der, which is principally used for mixing with the 
 other, or for scenting common soaps. A third sort of 
 lavender (Lavandula stoec/ias) has a beautiful odour, and 
 would yield a very fragrant essence, but it is very 
 scarce in France : the only places where I met with it 
 in quantities are Spain and Portugal, and there it is 
 only used to strew the floors of churches and houses on 
 festive occasions, or to make bonfires on St. John's day, a 
 custom formerly observed in England with native plants. 
 
 Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is more used by con- 
 fectioners than perfumers, yet the latter find it useful 
 in tooth-powders and washes. It is, like lavender, best 
 grown in England, the foreign being very inferior. 
 The American comes next to the English in quality. 
 
 m 
 
 WL 
 
 3u 
 
 
 \& 
 
•m 
 
 
 u 
 
 i& 
 
 •^a 
 
 MATERIALS 1 M.I) IN PERFUMERS. 
 
 2o5 
 
 Rosemary (Mosmarinua officinalis) is another plant of 
 the labiate order, which yields a powerful essence, 
 used chiefly for scenting soap. The resemblance of its 
 Savour to that of camphor is very remarkable. 
 
 There are two sorts of thyme distilled — ordinary 
 thyme {Thymus vulgaris), and wild thyme, or scrpolet 
 (Thymus serpyttum). Marjoram (Origana majorana) be- 
 longs to the same class. 
 
 The rose-geranium (Pv/argoiiiuni odoratissimnm) yields 
 an essence which is greatly prized by perfumers on 
 account of its powerful aroma, by means of which they 
 impart a rosy fragrance to common articles at a much 
 less cost than by using otto of roses, which is worth six 
 times as much. It is cultivated in the south of France, 
 Algeria, and Spain. The latter produces the finesl 
 essence, which is principally obtained from the fertile 
 " Hucrta de Yalentia." 
 
 Patchouli (Pogostemon patchouli) comes from India, 
 where it is known under the name 
 of puchaput. It has a most pecu- 
 liar flavour, which is as offensive 
 in some as it is agreeable toothers. 
 
 Wintergreen ( Qaultheriaprocum- 
 bens) we receive from North Ame- jt ^f 
 fica. This essence is exceedingly F^^^\ 
 powerful, and requires to be used 
 with great caution to produce a 
 pleasing effect Well blended with 
 
 others in soap, it imparts to it a rich jloral fra- 
 grance. 
 
 f 
 
 rS 
 
1 NviS** 256 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 The andropogon 1 series embraces three sorts of aro- 
 matic grasses, which grow abundantly in India, and 
 principally in Ceylon, whence we obtain their essential 
 oils. They are the Andropogon scltananthus, or lemon- 
 grass, which is used to imitate verbena, having a some- 
 what similar fragrance; the Andropogon titration, or 
 citronella, which forms the basis of the perfume of 
 honey soap ; and the Andropogon nardus, or ginger- 
 grass oil, improperly called Indian geranium, which I 
 '£ §*C have already mentioned in Chapter YIII. The chief 
 use of the latter in the East, I am sorry to say, is to 
 adulterate otto of roses, which costs from 30s. to 40s. 
 per ounce, whilst the other oil is scarcely worth one 
 shilling per ounce. 
 
 The citrine series comprises bergamot (Citrus bcrga- 
 mia), sweet orange (Citrus aurantium), bitter orange 
 (Citrus biyarradia), lemon (Citrus medico), cedrat {Ci- 
 trus ccdrata), and limette (Citrus limctta). Essential 
 oils are expressed or distilled from the rind of all 
 these fruits, as described in the last chapter. 
 
 The spice series includes cassia, cinnamon, cloves, 
 mace, nutmeg, and pimento. 
 
 Cassia, which was, like cinnamon, well known and 
 highly prized by the ancients, is distilled from the 
 Laurus cassia, a tree of the laurel tribe, which is abun- 
 dant in the East Indies and China. 
 
 Cinnamon belongs to the same class, and is extracted 
 from the bark of the Laurus einnamomum. A coarser 
 
 ¥ 
 
 dyoy, so called because this grass resembles a man's 
 
 it 
 
 w- K - ' 
 
.-.! 
 
 / 
 
 sisf 
 
 r\.t -*,■/ ; 
 
 Ij IP 
 
 ^*J 
 
 ra3 
 
 MUKKIALS USED IN PERFUMERY. ~'oi 
 
 essence is likewise obtained l'rom the leaves of the same 
 tree. 
 
 Cloves are the flower-buds of the CarijoplojUas aro- 
 matic as, a tree found in the Indian Archipelago. The 
 finest come from Zanzibar. The essence is chiefly 
 used for scenting soap ; but, when in infinitesimal 
 quantities, it also blends well with some handkerchief 
 scents, and principally with the carnation and clove- 
 pink, the fragrance of which it closely resembles. 
 
 Cloves Nutmeg 
 
 Mace and nutmeg are both produced by the Myris- 
 iica moschata, the latter being the fruit of that tree, 
 and the former one of its envelopes, or husks. 
 
 Pimento, or allspice, is the berry of the Eugenia 
 pimento, from which an essential oil is distilled, 
 which, like the two last named, is used for perfuming 
 soap. 
 
 The ligneous series consists of sandal-wood, rose- 
 wood, rhodium, cedar-wood, and sassafras. 
 
 Sandal-wood comes from the East, where it is highly 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 

 258 
 
 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 3 
 
 esteemed as ihc perfume par excellence, forming the 
 ground of all toilet preparations. There are several 
 species, tlie best being the Santalum citrinutn, from 
 which the essential oil used by perfumers is chiefly 
 distilled. I observed, in the last Exhibition, some very 
 fine specimens from Western Australia and Xew Cale- 
 donia. 
 
 Rosewood (Lignum aspalathum), rhodium (Convolvulus 
 scoparia), and cedar-wood (Juniperus virginiana) like- 
 wise yield essential oils, which are, however, but little 
 used by perfumers. 
 
 Sassafras, distilled from the Laurus sassafras, a tree 
 Avhich grows abundantly in North America, is a very 
 useful essence for soap, on account of its fresh and 
 powerful aroma. 
 
 The radical series is confined to orris-root and 
 vetivert. 
 
 Orris, or iris, is the rhizome of the Iris Florentina, 
 which is extensively cultivated in Italy, and principally 
 in Tuscanv. It exhales, when dry, a delightful violet 
 
 Of 
 
■•'V'V '^- v " 
 
 MATBRIALS D8BD IX PERFTJMEM 
 
 fragrance, which renders it very useful for scenting 
 i,,ii i, sachet, and tooth powders. When infused in 
 
 spirits it loses the violet odour, owing to the resinous 
 matters contained in it, which become dissolved and 
 overpower it ; but it is still sufficiently pleasant to form 
 the bafiifi of many cheap perfumes. 
 
 Vetivert, or kus-kus, is the rhizome of the Anatherum 
 murlcatum, which grows wild in India, as mentioned in 
 a former chapter. Tt forms the basis of the perfume 
 called moussclinc, which derived its name from the 
 
 Diptcrix Odcrat.i 
 
 peculiar odour of Indian muslin, which had formerly 
 great repute in Europe, and which was scented with 
 this root by the natives. Some of the Cyprus spec:. - in 
 India also possess fragrant roots, but they are little 
 used in Europe. 
 
 The seminal series includes aniseed [Pimpinella 
 orkwh), dill (Anethum grwoeolem), fennel (Anetktm 
 
 fcen>C>ili'i)A. and carraway (Canon rarnh, all umbelli- 
 ferous plants, with aromatic seeds which yield essential 
 
 .V 
 
 -3^ 
 
X 
 
 ■COV THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. 
 
 oils. The last-named is the most largely used. Musk- 
 seed, obtained from the Hibiscus abclmoschus, belongs 
 also to the same series. 
 
 The balmy and gummy series comprises balsam of 
 Peru, balsam of Tolu, benzoin, styrax, myrrh, and 
 camphor. "With the exception of the last, they are all 
 exudations from various trees ; balsam of Peru being 
 obtained from the Myroxylon Peruiferion, balsam of 
 Tolu from the Tohiifcr balsamum, benzoin (or gum- 
 benjamin) from the Styrax benzoin, and myrrh from 
 the Balsamodendron myrrha. The four first-named 
 possess a fragrance somewhat similar to vanilla, but 
 less delicate. Myrrh was the most esteemed perfume 
 in ancient times, but tastes must have changed since, 
 for it is now but little in request, and then only for 
 dentifrices. Camphor, which is more used in medicine 
 than perfumery, is obtained by boiling the wood of the 
 Lavrus camphora, a tree found principally in China 
 and Japan, and in which the guru exists ready 
 formed. 
 
 The fruity series includes bitter almonds, Tonquin 
 beans and vanilla. The essential oil of bitter almonds 
 is obtained by distilling the dry cake of the fruit 
 after the fat oil has been pressed out. It con- 
 tains from eight to ten per cent, of prussic acid, 
 which can be removed by re-distilling it over 
 potash. 
 
 Tonquin beans are the fruit of the Dipterix odoratu, 
 a tree which grows in the West Indies and South 
 America. 
 
 
MATERIALS C8ED IN PBRFUMERY. 
 
 
 l^>r-^T; 
 
 261 
 
 Vanilla is tho bean of a beautiful creeper [Vanilla 
 
 planifoHa) which is a native of Mexico, hut has lately 
 been introduced into the French island of Reunion, 
 where it thrives admirably. This colony now yields 
 annually more than 12,000 lbs. of the costly perfume, 
 and among the many beautiful specimens shown at the 
 last Exhibition, nine were deemed worthy of medals or 
 of honourable mention. A sort of bastard vanilla, 
 called vanilloes, is obtained from the Vanilla Pompona, 
 which is found in the West Indies and Guiana. 
 
 > 
 
 Vanilla Plant 
 
 The artificial series comprises all the various flavours 
 produced by chemical combinations. Of these the most 
 extensively used in perfumery is the nitro-benzine, 
 usually called mirbanc, or artificial essence of almonds. 
 This is obtained by treating rectified naphtha with nitric 
 acid and sulphuric acid, or sometimes with nitric acid 
 alone. The naphtha is poured slowly through a tube 
 into the acids, decomposition follows, and the essence 
 is found floating on the surface. Artificial essences of 
 
 "'""S-jT 1 
 
THK HOOK OF PERFIMK*. 
 
 lenion and cinnamon have also been produced, but have 
 not been brought to sufficient perfection to be available 
 for practical use. Besides these, artificial essences 
 imitating fruit flavours are manufactured, but princi- 
 pally for making confectionery. The pear essence is 
 an amylic ether ; the apple essence, a valerianic ether, 
 containing amyl ; and the pine-apple essence, a butyric 
 ether. The whole of these require to be diluted with 
 five or six times their weight of alcohol, to develop 
 their flavour. 
 
 This closes the list of materials used hitherto by 
 perfumers ; but there are many other fragrant treasures 
 dispersed all over the globe, which, from want of 
 communication, or the difficulty of extraction, have not 
 yet found their way to our laboratories, but may do 
 so at some future time. 
 
 The various floral essences distilled in the East 
 Indies I have noticed in a former chapter. The 
 imperfect way in which they are made, and their 
 very high price, preclude us from making any use 
 of them, but these two obstacles may one day be 
 removed. 
 
 In Australia there are many trees with fragrant 
 leaves, and principally the Tasmanian peppermint 
 (Eucalyptus amyydalina), the peppermint-tree (Euca- 
 lyptus odorala) the blue gum-tree (Eucalyptus globulus), 
 &c. Essential oils distilled from these leaves were 
 shown at the last Exhibition ; and although described 
 in the catalogue as only fit for painting purposes, I 
 expressed an opinion that they might be rendered 
 
 N6 
 

 
 :■ 
 
 
 MATERIALS USED IS PERFUMERY. 
 
 263 
 
 available for perfumery. An experiment which I made 
 with the oil of Eucalypti's amygdoima (possessing a 
 strange flavour of nutmegs combined with peppermint) 
 
 confirmed me in that idea ; and I am pleased to find that 
 colonists have turned their attention to the subject, and 
 are now sending these oils to our markets. The wattle 
 flower is also very abundant in those ports, and as it 
 closely resembles the cassia in fragrance, it might 
 be turned to good account. I received not long since 
 from Tasmania a .specimen of pomade made from the 
 flowers of the silver-wattle (Acacia dealbata), but it 
 was very interior, owing to the want of experience in 
 the operator. New South Wales and Queensland pro- 
 duce myall-wood (Acacia pendula), which has an intense 
 and delightful smell of violets, a very scarce odour in 
 nature. 
 
 Among other novel odorous products shown at 
 the Exhibition, I may mention Alyxia aromcitica, a 
 fragrant bark from Cochin-China ; another bark from 
 New Caledonia, called Ocotea aromatica ; and a highly- 
 scented wood (Licoria odorata) from French Guiana, 
 which has a strong flavour of bergamot. 
 
 For the convenience of persons curious or interested 
 in this matter, I have subjoined a table, where all the 
 principal materials used for perfumery are classed in 
 alphabetical order. Besides these, as I said before, 
 there is a vast number of aromatic plants and flowers 
 which have not yet been made available for the per- 
 fumer's art. The Flora of Nice alone furnishes above 
 hundred and fifty difFerenl specimens, of which the 
 
 .AT 
 
Amygdalus amara Northern Africa. 
 
 und floating 1 on the sea, 
 i Secretion of the Physctcr macro- ) or on the coasts of India, 
 
 cephalus i China, Japan, Greenland, 
 
 \ ' and other places. 
 
 Mmpinella anisum North of Europe. 
 
 Illiciura onisatum China and Japan. 
 
 Myroxylon peruiferum .... J W ^Sm^ "' ^"^ 
 
 Toluifera balsatuum i 
 
 Styrax benzoin j Siam, Sumatra, and Singa- 
 
 Citrus Bergamia rind .... Calabria and Sicily. 
 
 Citrus bigaradia rind | Italy. 
 
 Laurus camphora China and Japan. 
 
 Cm caru : ' England, (urroany, and 
 
 Croton cascarilla j Bahama Tshnd*. 
 
 i Cassia East Indie* and China. 
 
 Acacia farnesiana ) s < »{&£ : ^^ n j U,1 >'* 
 
 i PinusCedra and Junipers Vir- i t Syria, Dnilrd States, and 
 
 giniana I j Hondura-. 
 
 fJUroa eedrata rind South of France and Italy. 
 
 Laura Cmnamommn hark . . . Ceylon. 
 * of the same plant . . . , Ditto. 
 I Andropogon Citratum .... Ditto. 
 | Secretion of the Viverra Civetta . | Ll ftj Archipelago, and j 
 
 ( Africa. 
 M Flower bud of the Can nphylliiM » Inrlian Archipelago, and 
 
 * ;tr«i:iiaticus ( | Zanzibar. 
 
 Anethum graveolcn-; England. 
 
 I Ancthura fccniculuin Smith of France. 
 
 , Pelargonium odorati.simum . . I *** " f > '^ce. Iuly, ! 
 : ) Alccria, ai.d >pam. 
 
 | Andropogon nardus j Ceylon. 
 
 Root of the Iris florentina . ■ . Italy. 
 
 u«»i~»— w— « ■ • • r^Ls ■■*• 
 
 , N,irri->us Jnnquila >outh of France and Italy. 
 
 I Cerasus lauro-cerasus leaves . . Ditto. 
 
 i_ , , i England. South of France, 
 
 Lavandula vera | * nd , ta]v 
 
 ,. i Coast of Genoa, Calabria. 
 
 * Sirilv. and Spain. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NAMES. 
 Lemon grass . 
 
 WHENCE EXTRACTED. 
 
 PLACE OF PRODUCTION. 
 
 Andropogon Schamantaus . . . 
 
 Ceylon. 
 
 Lunette . . . 
 
 
 South of France. 
 
 Mace .... 
 
 Expressed from the refuse nutmegs 
 
 Indian Archipelago. 
 
 Marjoram . . 
 
 
 South of France. 
 
 Mirbane . . . 
 
 t Nitrobenzme or artificial eseen- i 
 \ tial oil of almonds . . . . i 
 
 England and France. 
 
 Musk .... 
 
 \ Secretion of the Moschus mos- { 
 
 Thibet, China, and Siberia. 
 
 Musk seed . . 
 
 Hibiscus abelmoschus .... 
 
 West Indies. 
 
 Myrtle . . . 
 Myrrh . . . 
 
 
 South of France. 
 
 P.ilsamodendron Myrrba . . . 
 
 East Indies and Arabia. 
 
 Narcissus . . 
 
 
 Algeria. 
 
 Neruli (bigar- / 
 rade) . . \ 
 
 Citrus Bigaradia flowers .... 
 
 I South of France, Italy, 
 ji and Algeria. 
 
 Neroli (Portu- / 
 gal) . . . \ 
 
 Nutmeg . . . 
 
 Citrus aurantiura flowers . . . 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 
 Indian Archipelago. 
 
 Orange or Por- ( 
 
 Citrus aurantium rind .... 
 
 Calabria and Sicily. 
 
 Orange flower . 
 
 Citrus Bigaradia flowers .... 
 
 South of France and Italy. 
 
 Patchouly . . 
 
 Pogostemon Patchouli .... 
 
 India and China. 
 
 Peppermint . . 
 
 
 England and United States. 
 
 Petit grain (bi- \ 
 garrade) . J 
 
 Citrus Bigaradia leaves .... 
 
 \ South of France and Al- 
 j geria. 
 
 Petit grain i 
 (Portugal) i 
 
 Citrus aurantium leaves .... 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Rose .... 
 
 
 \ South of France, Italy 
 ) and Turkey. 
 
 Rosemary . . 
 
 Rosmarinus officinalis .... 
 
 South of France. 
 
 Ruse wood . . 
 
 Lignum aspalathum 
 
 South America. 
 
 r India, China, Indian Ar- 
 
 Sandalwood . . 
 
 
 \ chipelago,andWestAus- 
 (. tralia. 
 
 Sassafras . . . 
 
 
 United States. 
 
 Serpolet . . . 
 
 
 South of France. 
 
 Spike .... 
 
 Lavandula Bpica 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Styrax . . . 
 
 Liquidambar styraciflua .... 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Thyme . . . 
 
 
 South of France. 
 
 Tonquin . . . 
 
 Beans of the Diptcrix odorata . . 
 
 * South America and West 
 » Indies 
 
 Tuberose . . . 
 
 Polianthes tuberosa 
 
 South of France and Italy. 
 
 Vanilla . . . 
 
 Pod of the Vanilla planil'olia . . 
 
 Mexico. 
 
 Verbena . , . 
 
 Aloysia citriodora 
 
 Spain. 
 
 Violet .... 
 
 
 South of France and Italy. 
 
 Vitivert . . . 
 
 Anatherum murieatum .... 
 
 India. 
 
 Wintergreen 
 
 Oaultheria procuinbens .... 
 
 United States. 
 
 STKPntN AIS1J.N, PRINTER, HKRTFOU 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 Mr. Rimmel provides 113 with au amusing, and not only amusing but 
 also instructive, history of Perfumery, — showing how it was used by the 
 ancients, how it is used by the moderns, how perfumes are extracted and 
 preserved, and how they are to be classified and appreciated. — Times. 
 
 The "Book of Perfumes" is a very entertaining production. It 
 embraces a great variety of subjects, which have been thoroughly in- 
 vestigated, and which are very interesting to the reader, intrinsically, 
 and by the author's manner. — Morning Post, January 17, 1865. 
 
 A delicious book, radiant to the eye, fragrant to the nostrils — emblazoned, 
 gilt-edged, illustrated, odoriferous!— Sun, January 6, 1865. 
 
 The book itself is perfumed, beautifully printed and illustrated, and con- 
 tains all that the most devoted lover of scent can be taught concerning 
 their origin, history, and various modes of preparation. — Glebe, January 
 19, 1865. 
 
 The reader who seeks for a pleasant history on the pleasant subject of 
 perfumes can nowhere find a more deeply read, clearer and more com- 
 municative guide and instructor than Mr. Rimmel. — Morning Advertiser, 
 January 6, 1865. 
 
 This really elegant and sweetly smelling volume is not a mere illustra- 
 tion of Mr. Rimmel's skill as a practical perfumer; it shows also that he 
 understands the philosophy of his subject, and can write like a scholar and 
 a man of sense and good taste. — Court Circular, January 14, 1865. 
 
 The book in this instance is a good one, full of odd, out-of-tbe-way 
 information upon a subject which once interested all mankind and now 
 interests almost all women. — Spectator, January 7, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Rimmel, the famous perfumer of London and Paris, has produced a 
 book which is not a vulgar puff for his own business, but is really a learned, 
 elegant, and fascinating volume on one of the most fascinating of topics. — 
 London Reciew, January 21, 1865. 
 
 The volume is full of woodcuts, some of which are very good, and con- 
 tains a great deal of curious information collected by a person who is well 
 and practically acquainted with the subject on which he writes. — The 
 Reader, January 2-, 1865. 
 
 There is much that will amuse the general reader, and that may be 
 practically useful and agreeable. — Athoucum, January 21, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Rimmel unites with his ploBHrOl speeches much learning. He is at 
 once a lover of, and a master in, his art. Press, January 21, 1865. 
 
 •' •!< 
 
 ^ 
 

 '-\ 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 In this volume Mr. Rimmcl has rendered a real service. The informa- 
 tion it contains he has drawn from a large variety of sources, and he has 
 condensed and epitomised it with remarkable skill. His work is written 
 in a free, flowing, and slightly humorous style, not unmixed with a tone 
 of sagacious and philosophic satire. —Sunday Times, January 22, 1865. 
 
 It is the very book for a lady who is disposed to improve an hour's 
 leisure, and who cares to know something of the history and mystery of 
 her own toilet. — Englishwoman' s Magazine, January, 1865. 
 
 The work is profusely illustrated by copies of ancient and modern draw- 
 ings, and will be found not only an elegant but a really instructive volume. 
 — Observer, January 8, 1865. 
 
 A large number of quaint and characteristic illustrations embellish the 
 work, which will possess an interest for many.— Journal of the Society of 
 Arts, January 6, 1865. 
 
 The book is a beautiful specimen of paper, binding, and typography ; is 
 profusely illustrated with engravings, and altogether forms an elegant and' 
 appropriate casket for the very fragrant articles it contains. — United Service 
 Gazette, January 14, 1865. 
 
 This " Book of Perfumes" is really a marvel, for it is the first of its kind 
 as far as we know : it is the first book which presumed to engage the 
 attention, please the eye, and delight the nose at the same time. — Army 
 and Navy Gazette, January 21, 1865. 
 
 This book is a beautiful specimen of typography, no less than a clever 
 exposition of the subject on which it treats. — Bell's Weekly Messenger, 
 January 21, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Kimniel has left no side of his subject without turning upon it the 
 full light of a copious, learned, and interesting treatment. — Weekly 
 Register, January 21, 1865. 
 
 The book is as complete as it was possible to make it, and we cannot 
 doubt its being very much admired. — News of the World, January 22, 1865. 
 
 A charming book, that will delight every lady to whose boudoir-table it 
 may find its way.— Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, January 28, 1865. 
 
 There can be no doubt that its popularity with the fair sex will be very 
 considerable indeed. — Weekly Dispatch, January 28, 1865. 
 
 Whoever delights to con the legends of the past and to list the romances 
 of ancient and modern alchemy, will not fail of amusement and instruction 
 in the pages before us. — Englishman, January 20, 1865. 
 
 It is a book which no fashionable table should be without.— I>iMin 
 Fiecman, January 18, 1865. 
 
 I 
 
 u 
 
 f W 
 

 _M