His pillow breathed it, and his easy-chair, and it was perceived even by comparative strangers. I have known persons innocent of using perfume, whose fragrant presence was recognized by every one who came near them. In all cases this was accompanied by a bodily condition of perfect health and much magnetic attraction. This may be named the first in that list of subtile personal properties which constitute the strongest and most enduring of physical charms, and which are not discussed with any proportion to their potency. We do not stop to ask what pleases us; refinement attracts, sweetness detains ns, and we are only too glad to lie under the spell.
May a plain woman reach her hand for these gifts of pleasing? Surely. They were meant to be nature's compensation for the lack of chiseled features and ruffled tresses. To reach this subtile refinement requires such preparation as the virgins underwent for the court of Ahasuerus: "Six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors"—if not in kind, yet in care.
