From My secrets of beauty by Cavalieri, Lina, 1874-1944:
HOW TO ACQUIRE A PLEASING VOICE
IF you would have a beautiful voice shun its two greatest enemies, coryza (cold in the head) and the evil emotions.
Every woman would have a beautiful voice, for it is indeed one of the most excellent things in woman. To my mind it is the most desirable possession in the world. But then I am a singer. I wish only to be a singer. If the singing voice were denied me I should choose, if I might have my choice, first a lovely face, then a lovely figure, and third a charming speaking voice.
There have been beautiful women without agreeable voices, but never a fascinating one. The voice rather than the eyes is the seat of magnetism. Many a plain woman has enjoyed that invaluable gift of personal magnetism and students of character have been baffled by it until they guessed the riddle of her voice. Plain women with low, well modulated voices with the heart note in them, are more dangerous rivals than pretty women who screech as peacocks. Painfully often the pretty face and figure are accompanied by the harsh, squeaking voice. The reason is the same that exists for the fact that pretty women seldom cultivate the power of charm. Content with what nature has given them, they make no effort to be responsive or entertaining. Their voices fall gratingly upon all ears but their own, which have been dulled by praise of their natural beauty.
Every woman may not have a sweet voice, but every woman may have an agreeable one. The pleasantest speaking voice is more often made than born. It is susceptible of cultivation.
The uncultivated voice reflects the emotions as candidly as the eye mirror forth the soul. Culture of person and voice gradually suppress, or at least restrain, this faculty. If the voice be pleasant it should reflect only pleasant things. This, let it be understood, applies only to the speaking voice. I am not giving in this article a singing lesson.
Anger, suspicion, jealousy, covetousness, if they be felt, must be imprisoned in the spirit. As disfiguring to voice as face are these which have been called “ the dark emotions.” If they cannot be eliminated from the soul they must be driven out of the voice. The dark emotions make the voice harsh. The silly emotions make it shrill. Mental and character poise are the father and mother of the beautiful speaking voice.
Coryza (cold in the head) is a menace to the voice. Hoarseness hides the beauties of a voice as a thick veil the face of a woman. Colds should be avoided. Or having been contracted, they should as quickly as possible be cured.
Many women of full habit who, as they say, “ feel a cold coming on,” go immediately to the Turkish baths, and by drastic treatment rid themselves quickly of it. This, if followed by great care to prevent catching a fresh cold immediately after the bath, is a good remedy. So, too, is the ancient one of retiring early and with many blankets added to the usual amount of bed clothing to coax a heavy perspiration. This can be greatly aided by the other oldfashioned remedy of a glass of hot lemonade. A moderate dose of quinine is also effective in “ breaking* up a cold.”
The roots of the disease having thus been plucked up, the accompanying ugliness caused by rheumy eyes, swollen, scarlet nose and “ running ” nostrils, can be gradually cured by inhalations and gargles.
A yeoman remedy is the sniffing into the nostrils of quite strong salt water. Another that is excellent is the sniffing of pulverized camphor. A third is a nasal sweeping by the inhalation of ammonia.
Strong aromatic vinegars serve the same purpose. This is a valuable one, agreeable and less expensive than the elaborate one used by the beauties of the French court:
Glacial acetic acid, 14 ounces; rose water, 2½ ounces; lavender water, I pint.
This is powerful as well as pleasing and will reward the user for the pains of mixing the many ingredients:
Glacial acetic acid, ½ pound; rectified spirits of wine, I ounce; oil of neroli, 14 dram; oil of allspice, 14 dram; oil of lavender, 14 dram; pure oil of cinnamon, 14 dram; oil of bergamot, 14 dram; oil of rosemary, 1½ dram; oil of cloves, 34 dram; pulverized camphor, 14 ounces. This is very strong and age makes it stronger. It is most advantage-ously used by pouring a few drops of it upon a silk sponge and inhaling. Avoid its contact with skin and clothes.
A third tonic vinegar useful for inhalation is this:
White vinegar, I pint; extract of lavender, 15 grams; oil of bergamot, 6 grams; oil of citron, 5 grams; tincture of benzoin, 6 grams.
Sage tea in which a small quantity of eucalyptus has been distilled is excellent for cleansing the nasal cavities after a cold.
Beauties of many courts and times have removed the husky quality from their voices by inhaling the vapor from a concoction of:
Sweet milk, I pint; ripe figs, ½ dozen. These should be boiled to a pulp and inhaled while hot. The mixture can be heated again and again and the vapor from it inhaled, until the cure is effected.
I am glad to see that fig and apricot paste has been imported from the Orient, for Persian women have successfully used this jam-like confection and medicine for many generations for the cure of hoarseness.
Weak elderflower tea is an admirable remedy. An infusion of chickweed is also recommended. These latter should be inhaled. The fig and apricot paste is, of course, for internal use.
Mme. Pompadour, the famous French beauty, used to clear her voice of huskiness by inhaling the fumes of :
Pulverized myrrh, i ounce ; amber, 50 grains.
A husky voice indicates that the throat is dry. Our ancestresses knew this and made their children drink much sweet milk or buttermilk to remove hoarseness. The poor singer seeking relief from that distress by sucking a lemon has been a subject for caricaturists for twenty years. But the ludicrous practice has a basis in common sense. A lemon is a broom for the throat. A raw egg beaten with the lemon juice serves that purpose and is soothing to the burning throat.
While I was singing in Philadelphia I acquired a bad cold. One of the old families who had always extended me the courtesy of their home and friendship offered me a cough syrup they called “ Stewed Quaker.” It was so quickly efficacious that I asked for the formula. Here it is:
New Orleans molasses, ½ pint; butter, I tablespoonful; white sugar, I teaspoonful; vinegar, 1 tablespoonful.
Cold compresses often cure a sore throat over night. Into ice cold water dip a fold of cotton cloth. Wring it out only dry enough to prevent its dripping. Pin this tightly around the throat with safely pins, and over the compress pin a fold of flannel. Soon the heat from the neck causes vapor and “ loosens the cold.” In the morning remove the compress and massage the neck with olive oil.
If you value your voice try to avoid that protracted unpleasantness which is known as a summer cold.
To best understand how to prevent a cold, let us perfectly understand its causes. I say causes, not cause for an authority on the subject has recently said that there are four conditions that bring about the annoying and dangerous condition we call “ a cold.”
There must be lowered vitality. In other words, a person may be in that state we describe as “ run down.” When we are run down or “ seedy,” as they say in England, our resistance is lessened; we are like a besieged town whose walls are falling. In this unprotected state we have little chance against a cold.
A similar condition is fatigue. We are more prone to catch cold when we are tired, because the good white corpuscles in the blood, the body’s defenders, are lessened by weariness. Also fatigue creates an excess of certain gases in the body, carbonic acid gas among others, and these self-poisons weaken the body and open the doors to cold.
Now, how to prevent a cold. Keep your liver active. If it becomes lazy take plenty of exercise to stir it into activity. If the liver is torpid, the poison it should take care of is cast upon the mucous membrane, irritating it and causing catarrh.
Be sure that your digestion is the best and that the intestinal tract is kept clear. Unless you do this there may be an irritation of the lining of the intestines that will cause all of the alimentary tract to become catarrhal. This, in turn, will extend to the nose and throat. To avoid indigestion, be careful that you eat only nourishing foods. Tuberculosis is more common in the poorer quarters of every city, especially of London, and physicians have concluded that this is not because they do not have enough to eat, but because they eat too many starchy foods, as pastry and potatoes, and too many sweets, as candy.
your knowledge to them. Keep in mind these four principles of flesh reduction. All methods depend upon increased perspiration, lessened quantity or different quality of food, more vigorous exercise or that which reacts upon certain portions of the body, or greater freedom from clogging materials which are wastes of the body. Those bath powders which are advertised as reducing agents usually contain one of the salts which induce the latter results.
