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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)0luul in 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
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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
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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 predecOBBOra. 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
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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
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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
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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.
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96, Stra.vd, \oth Deefmber, 1864
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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 ladiea— The
toilet of an Egyptian belle— Cleopatra and Mark Antony— Egyptian
,ini,,. .,- scene— The hair and beard—
. — Ladies' head-dresses lj
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CHAPTER III.
Noah'* sacrifice— Balm of Gilead— Altar of incense— Holy incense and anointing oil— Jewish knurs anointad 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 -
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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
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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
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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'^
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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
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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)
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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
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.1ST OK ILLUSTRATIONS.
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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
Chum— 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
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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
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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
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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 fragrance 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?
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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
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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
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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.
Tin1 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-Prlestr,0Urius0ii°veraWummy.
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
rC ~&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 natron1 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
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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.
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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 hniw •
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Sjs
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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.
, ■
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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
TC5^
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 \
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16
THE HOOK OK PERITMES.
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*
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
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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
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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.)
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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
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&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
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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
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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
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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-
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"CrQv
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)
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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
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King's Head-dress.
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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.
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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,
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•
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
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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
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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 soap3 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
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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 semblance 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 Suetonius1 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
mm
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 \NS-
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' Laeomtt 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 Ycry 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 ■afw 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
t3*.
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 houris1 — 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'.
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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.
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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.
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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 0 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
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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.
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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.
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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 earth1 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
£.
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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
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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. Hooker1! Bimalayan Journal, rol i. p. 339.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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THE FAB E 1ST.
151
Her graceful form, with lengthened Buffering \\';is like hex perfumed muaky tronooe — 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'tny1 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.
&\
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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.
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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
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1111. I'M! BAST.
159
-7
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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—
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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 !
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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
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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 classical wreath of orange-blossoms, and what a charming contrast must be offered when the paint
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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[
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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 ladies2 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.
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I'NCIVII.I/ED NATIONS
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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.
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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.
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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
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;
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
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uncivilized n \ noys
17!J
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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.
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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
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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. 0 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. 0 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
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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
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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
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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
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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 greatest 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
/,
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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."
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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
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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*.
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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. Matilda, 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.
£->
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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 tyffen3 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.
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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.
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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>
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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
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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.
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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 prepared from apples, whence it demee in name.
3
£02
THE BOOK OF PERFUMES.
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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-."
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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 -'
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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.
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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''-
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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
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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 Pepyt1 Diary, 26th April, 1687.
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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,
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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.
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PROM ANCIENT To MODERN TIMES.
■.'II
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:
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. Martial2 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"
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$E35
^ -
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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
caricaturists 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&
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^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^
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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 absorption.
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 medicines, 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
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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.
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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^
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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
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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
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*
India. It is now chiefly imported from the Indian Archipelago; but, formerly, Dutch merchante 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
* '
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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.
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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
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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."
-' ' ,
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- . -
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.
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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
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1 NviS** 256 THE BOOK OF PERFUMES.
The andropogon1 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
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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
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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.
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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-jT1
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
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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 floating1 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< »{&£ :^^njU,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 . | Llftj 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.
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