Complete Women's Guide

To Cure Watery and Inflamed Eyes.—Foment frequently with decoction of poppy heads. When the irritation and inflammation occur, a teaspoonful of cognac brandy in four ounces ofspring water may be used three or four times in the course of the day as a strengthening lotion.

General Care of the Eyes.—The eyes, of all the features, stand pre-eminent for their beauty and ever-varying powers of expression, and for being the organs of the most exalted,delicate and useful of the senses. It is they alone that “reveal the external forms of beauty to the mind, and enable it to perceive them, even at a distance, with the speed of light. It isthey alone that clothe the whole creation with the magic charms of color, and fix on every object the identity of figure. It is the eyes alone, or chiefly, that reveal the emotions of the mind toothers, and that clothe the features with the language of the soul. Melting with pity, or glowing with hope, or redolent with love, benevolence, desire, or emulation, they impart to the countenancethose vital fascinations which are the peculiar attributes of man.” “And when the mind is subdued by fear, anxiety or shame, or overwhelmed by sorrow or despair, the eyes, like faithfulchroniclers, still tell the truthful story of the mental disquietude. And hatred, anger, envy, pride, and jealousy, ambition, avarice, discontent, and all the varied passions and emotions thattorment, excite or depress the human soul, and find a resting place in the human breast, obtain expression in the eyes. At one moment the instruments of receiving and imparting pleasure, at anotherthe willing or passive instruments of pain, their influences and changes are as varied and boundless as the empire of thought itself.” Through their silent expressions the mind reveals itsworkings to the external world in signs more rapid and as palpable as those uttered by the tongue. It is “the eyes alone that stamp the face with the outward symbol of animation andvitality,” and which endue it with the visible “sanctity of reason.” The eye is, indeed, the chief and most speaking feature of the face, and the one on whose excellence, morethan any other, its beauty depends.

Theories have been based on even the peculiar color of the eyes. Thus, it is said that dark blue eyes are found chiefly in persons of delicate, refined or effeminate mental character; light blueeyes, and more particularly gray eyes, in the hardy and active; hazel eyes, in the masculine, vigorous, and profound; black eyes, in those whose energy is of a desultory or remittent character, andwho exhibit fickleness in pursuits and affection. Greenish eyes, it is asserted, have the same general meaning as gray eyes, with the addition of selfishness or a sinistrous disposition. Thesestatements, however, though based on some general truths, and supported by popular opinion, are liable to so many exceptions as to be unreliable and valueless in their individual applications.

Shakespeare is said to have had hazel eyes; Swift, blue eyes; Milton, Scott, and Byron, gray eyes. Wellington and Napoleon are also said to have had gray eyes.

A beautiful eye is one that is full, clear, and brilliant; appropriate in color to the complexion, and in form to the features, and of which the connected parts—the eyelids, eyelashes, andeyebrows, which, with it, in a general view of the subject, collectively form the external eye—are also beautiful, and in keeping with it.

To increase the beauty and expression of the eyes, various means are occasionally had recourse to, nearly all of which, except those herein mentioned in connection with the eyelashes andeyebrows, are not merely highly objectionable, but even dangerous. Thus, some fashionable ladies and actresses, to enhance the clearness and brilliancy of their eyes before appearing in public, arein the habit of exposing them to air slightly impregnated with the vapor of prussic acid. This is done by placing a single drop of the dilute acid at the bottom of an eyecup or eyeglass, and thenholding the cup or glass against the eye for a few seconds, with the head in an inclined position. It has also been asserted, and I believe correctly, that certain ladies of the demimonde rub avery small quantity of belladonna ointment on the brow over each eye, or moisten the same part with a few drops of tincture of belladonna. This produces dilation of the pupil, and gives thatpeculiar fullness and an expression of languor to the eyes which, by some, is regarded as exceedingly fascinating. The use of these active medicinals in this way must be manifestly injurious; andwhen frequent, or long continued or carried to excess, must necessarily result in impaired vision, if not in actual blindness.

The following means of repairing and restoring the sight, which has for some time been going the round of the press, being based on scientific principles, may be appropriately inserted here:

For nearsightedness, close the eyes and pass the fingers, very gently, several times across them outward, from the canthus, or corner next the nose, towards the temple. This tends slightly toflatten the corner and lens of the eye, and thus to lengthen or extend the angle of vision. The operation should be repeated several times a day, or at least always after making ones toilet, untilshortsightedness is nearly or completely removed. For long sight, loss of sight by age, weak sight, and generally for all those defects which require the use of magnifying glasses, gently pass thefinger, or napkin, from the outer angle or corner of the eyes inward, above and below the eyeball, towards the nose. This tends slightly to “round up” the eyes, and thus to preserve orto restore the sight. It should be done every time the eyes are washed, or oftener.