Then there is an eruption of numerous little pimples on the skin, called acne, to which also we have alluded. But much the most feared is that really distressing skin disease known familiarly as barber's itch, or tetter, and by physicians as sycosis. It is contagious, and can readily be communicated by a shaving brush, and even by a razor. It is also very obstinate, and when apparently cured, very apt to return. It is, in fact, a parasitic growth, which attacks the hair bulb and the hair itself. At first a small spot, red and itchy, is seen on the skin, and not long after some pimples are visible.

But this disease is much more rare than is usually supposed even by physicians, as it is very liable to be confounded with two other very similar diseases (acne and impetigo). The only cure for it is to pull out the hairs, and dress the part with some strong ointment destructive of parasitic life, as, for example, one that contains carbolic acid.

Ordinary tetter, on the other hand, is a comparatively simple disease, which will yield readily to proper treatment. One of the best applications is oil of turpentine. This should be painted over the part with a camel-hair brush two or three times a day, and allowed to remain. Or if it is desired to have a more elegant compound, this ointment may be procured and gently rubbed in, morning and evening:

Mix them well, and add some scented oil.

If these means do not promptly restore the part to health, no time should be lost in consulting a physician, as, if the disease is really sycosis, it requires a determined contest to force it from the field, and the sooner the battle is opened in earnest, the better for the sufferer.

The hair of the face, like that on the head, is liable to loss of color and loss of vigor, sometimes, though rarely, resulting in bald spots. The treatment of these depends upon the nature of the complaint, and is in general terms that which we have previously given for similar maladies of the hair of the scalp.

L'ENVOI.

THE DUTY OF COMELINESS.

“So, Lady Flora, take my lay,
And if you find no moral there,

Go, look in any glass and say,

What moral is in being fair."

E are not at all sure that we need to write the

WE

present section. Is it necessary for us to defend the thesis, that it is the duty of every woman to look as pretty as she possibly can, consistently with her other duties? It may be, for there are still some among us whose minds, obscured by some lingering mist of the Dark Ages, cannot cease imagining that the beauty of the body is the snare of the Devil, and the cultivation of that beauty little better than burning incense on his altar. They do not remember, poor souls, that this body of ours is the counterpart of divinity, but only then, when it is maintained with perfect form and feature.

FAREWELL ADVICE.

321

If these readers demand a moral to every tale, let them learn from the poet whom we have just quoted, that there is a moral in simply being fair, that beauty, like truth, carries with it its own benison, and deserves to be cultivated, as one of the means by which we may advance on the road of infinite progress. And this cultivation, let us define it closer, let us, leaving generalities, see what the individual should do in order to secure the greatest degree of comeliness.

In the first place, then, let her correct the various bad habits we have specified, chiefly those of carriage, of expression, of want of cleanliness, of false modes of dress, of incorrect speech, of injudicious diet, of indolence. Let her, with Faust, learn the bitter lesson that sich entsagen, to refuse one's self, is the first step to take; let her, with Wilhelm Meister, join the noble society of Renunciants, who are sure to lead the world.

Secondly, let her study her own complexion, expression, stature, profile, and outline, precisely as an artist does those of one of his ideal figures, and with the same care and pains as the artist, let her choose for herself the contrasting and harmonizing colors, the coiffure, the expression, and the manner, best adapted to bring out prominently all her natural advantages, and throw into the shade all unfavorable traits. This may be done, and must be done, without departing so far from the prevailing mode as to appear outré or eccentric.

Thirdly, let her profit by the lessons she has learned in this book about the removal of blemishes on the face of beauty. Let unsightly warts and scars be done away with, let hairs which injure the appearance be destroyed, the complexion and hair be cultivated in accordance with the principles we have laid down, the form developed, diminished, or increased by those hygienic, emotional, and dietetic rules we have given, the features and organs of special sense subjected, if need be, to the training and the modification of the surgeon, and the general health improved under the advice of an intelligent physician, the teeth, voice, and even the nails attended to, and in fine those numerous cares of toilet observed which are by this time familiar to the reader.

If she has done all this, there will be little need for the purely venal cosmetic arts, such as paint, powder, patches, or rouge. She will discover that without any excessive trouble, or inordinate expense of time or money-with a very moderate expenditure of either, indeed—her natural charms are enhanced tenfold, and just in the same proportion will she have augmented that admiration, and attracted that solid esteem which make life pleasant. She will learn that health and beauty are so nearly synonymous that one cannot have the latter without possessing the former, and therefore that in the endeavor to acquire comeliness she is also on the road to sound mental and physical health.