247. White Soap.

This soap is made with one part of the Lees of Spanish Pot-ash and Quick-lime, to two parts of Oil of Olives or Oil of Almonds.

248. Honey Soap.

Take four ounces of White Soap, and as much Honey, half an ounce of Salt of Tartar, and two or three drachms of the distilled Water of Fumitory; mix the whole together. This Soap cleanses the skin well, and renders it delicately white and smooth. It is also used advantageously, to efface the marks of burns and scalds.

249. A perfumed Soap.

Take four ounces of Marsh-mallow Roots skinned and dried in the shade, powder them, and add an ounce of Starch, the same quantity of Wheaten Flour, six drachms of fresh Pine-nut Kernels, two ounces of blanched Almonds, an ounce and a half of Orange Kernels husked, two ounces of Oil of Tartar, the same quantity of Oil of Sweet Almonds, and thirty grains of Musk: thoroughly incorporate the whole, and add to every ounce, half an ounce of Florentine Orrice-root in fine powder. Then steep half a pound of fresh Marsh-mallow Roots bruised in the distilled Water of Mallows, or Orange Flowers, for twelve hours, and forcibly squeezing out the liquor, make, with this mucilage, and the preceding Powders and Oils, a stiff Paste, which is to be dried in the shade, and formed into round balls. Nothing exceeds this Soap for smoothing the skin, or rendering the hands delicately white.

250. Fine scented Wash-ball.

Take of the best White Soap, half a pound, and shave it into thin slices with a knife; then take two ounces and a half of Florentine Orrice, three quarters of an ounce of Calamus Aromaticus, and the same quantity of Elder Flowers; of Cloves, and dried Rose Leaves, each half an ounce; Coriander-seeds, Lavender, and Bay Leaves, of each a drachm, with three drachms of Storax. Reduce the whole to fine powder, which knead into a Paste with the Soap; adding a few grains of Musk or Ambergrise. When you make this Paste into Wash-balls, soften it with a little Oil of Almonds to render the composition more lenient. Too much cannot be said in favour of this Wash-ball, with regard to its cleansing and cosmetic property.

251. A Wash-ball, an excellent Cosmetic for the Face and Hands.

Take a pound of Florentine Orrice, a quarter of a pound of Storax, two ounces of Yellow Sanders, half an ounce of Cloves, as much fine Cinnamon, a Nutmeg, and twelve grains of Ambergrise; beat the whole into very fine powder and sift them through a lawn sieve, all except the Ambergrise, which is to be added afterwards. Then take two pounds of the finest White Soap, shaved small, and infuse it in three pints of Brandy, four or five days. When it is dissolved, add a little Orange Flower-water, and knead the whole into a very stiff Paste with the best Starch finely powdered. Then mix the Ambergrise, with a little Gum Tragacanth liquefied in sweet-scented Water. Of this Paste make Wash-balls; dry them in the shade, and polish them with a Paste-board or Lignum VitÆ cup.

252. Bologna Wash-balls.

Take a pound of Italian Soap cut in small bits, and a quarter of a pound of Lime; pour on them two quarts of Brandy, let them ferment together twenty-four hours, then spread the mass on a sheet of filtring paper to dry. When quite dry, beat it in a marble mortar, with half an ounce of St. Lucia Wood, an ounce and a half of Yellow Sanders, half an ounce of Orrice-root, and as much Calamus Aromaticus, all finely powdered. Knead the whole into a Paste with Whites of Eggs, and a quarter of a pound of Gum Tragacanth dissolved in Rose-water, and then form it into Wash-balls according to the usual method.

253. An excellent Wash-ball for the Complexion.

Take two ounces of Venetian Soap; dissolve it in two ounces of Lemon Juice, an ounce of Oil of Bitter Almonds, and the same quantity of Oil of Tartar. Mix the whole together, and stir the mixture till it acquires the consistence of a thick Paste.

254. Seraglio Wash-balls.

Take a pound of Florentine Orrice-roots, a quarter of a pound of Gum Benjamin, two ounces of Storax, two ounces of Yellow Sanders, half an ounce of Cloves, a drachm of Cinnamon, a little Lemon-peel, an ounce of St. Lucia Wood, and one Nutmeg. Reduce the whole to fine powder; then take about two pounds or White Soap shaved thin, steep it with the above Powder in three pints of Brandy, four or five days. Afterwards kneading the mass with a sufficient quantity of Starch, and adding to it the Whites of Eggs, with Gum Tragacanth dissolved in some odoriferous Water, form the Paste into Wash-balls of what size you please. A few grains of Musk or Civet, or a little Essential Oil of Lavender, Bergamot, Roses, Cloves, Clove-july-flowers, Jasmine, Cinnamon, in short, any that best pleases the fancy of the person who prepares these Wash-balls, may be incorporated with the Paste while forming into a mass.

255. A Hepatic Salt, to preserve the Complexion.

Take Roots of Agrimony, two pounds; Roots of Succory and Scorzonera, of each a pound; Bitter Costus and Turmeric, of each half a pound; Calamus Aromaticus and Rhapontic, of each a quarter of a pound; Wormwood, Southernwood, Sweet Maudlin, Harts-tongue, Fluellin, Liverwort, Fumitory, and Dodder of Thyme, of each three ounces; calcine the whole in a reverberatory furnace, and add Ashes of Rhubarb and Cassia Lignea of each an ounce and a half. Make a lee with these Ashes in a decoction of the Flowers of Liverwort, and extract the Salt according to art. This Salt causes the bile to flow freely, removes obstructions, cures the jaundice, takes away a sallow complexion, and imparts to the skin the ruddy vermillion bloom of health. Its dose is from twenty-four to thirty-six grains, in any convenient vehicle.