Take two ounces of Venetian Soap; dissolve it in two ounces of Lemon Juice, an ounce of Oil of Bitter Almonds, and the same quantity of Oil of Tartar. Mix the whole together, and stir the mixture till it acquires the consistence of a thick Paste.
Take a pound of Florentine Orrice-roots, a quarter of a pound of Gum Benjamin, two ounces of Storax, two ounces of Yellow Sanders, half an ounce of Cloves, a drachm of Cinnamon, a little Lemon-peel, an ounce of St. Lucia Wood, and one Nutmeg. Reduce the whole to fine powder; then take about two pounds or White Soap shaved thin, steep it with the above Powder in three pints of Brandy, four or five days. Afterwards kneading the mass with a sufficient quantity of Starch, and adding to it the Whites of Eggs, with Gum Tragacanth dissolved in some odoriferous Water, form the Paste into Wash-balls of what size you please. A few grains of Musk or Civet, or a little Essential Oil of Lavender, Bergamot, Roses, Cloves, Clove-july-flowers, Jasmine, Cinnamon, in short, any that best pleases the fancy of the person who prepares these Wash-balls, may be incorporated with the Paste while forming into a mass.
255. A Hepatic Salt, to preserve the Complexion.
Take Roots of Agrimony, two pounds; Roots of Succory and Scorzonera, of each a pound; Bitter Costus and Turmeric, of each half a pound; Calamus Aromaticus and Rhapontic, of each a quarter of a pound; Wormwood, Southernwood, Sweet Maudlin, Harts-tongue, Fluellin, Liverwort, Fumitory, and Dodder of Thyme, of each three ounces; calcine the whole in a reverberatory furnace, and add Ashes of Rhubarb and Cassia Lignea of each an ounce and a half. Make a lee with these Ashes in a decoction of the Flowers of Liverwort, and extract the Salt according to art. This Salt causes the bile to flow freely, removes obstructions, cures the jaundice, takes away a sallow complexion, and imparts to the skin the ruddy vermillion bloom of health. Its dose is from twenty-four to thirty-six grains, in any convenient vehicle.
[EYE-BROWS.]
256. To change the Eye-brows black.
Rub them frequently with ripe Elder-berries. Some use burnt Cork, or Cloves burnt in the candle; others prefer the Black of Frankincense, Rosin, and Mastic. This Black will not melt nor come off by sweating.